We report the synthesis and characterization of a family of cobalt(III) metal precursors, based around cyclopentadienyl and diazabutadiene ligands. The molecular structure of the complexes cyclopentadienyl-Cobalt(III)(N,N'-dicyclohexyl-diazabutadiene) (2c) and cyclopentadienyl-Cobalt(III)(N,N'-dimesityl-diazabutadiene) (2d) are described, as determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Thermogravimetric analysis of the complexes highlighted the isopropyl derivative CpCo((i)Pr2-dab) (2a) as a possible cobalt metal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) precursor. Atmospheric pressure CVD (AP-CVD) was employed using precursor 2a to synthesize thin films of metallic cobalt on silicon substrates under an atmosphere of hydrogen (H2). Analysis of the thin films deposited at substrate temperatures of 250 °C, 275 °C, 300 °C, 325 °C, and 350 °C, respectively, by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) reveal temperature dependent growth features: films grown at 325 and 350 °C are continuous and pinhole free, whereas those films grown at substrate temperatures of 250 °C, 275 °C, and 300 °C consist of crystalline nanoparticles. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) all show the films to be high purity metallic cobalt. Raman spectroscopy has also been used to prove the absence of cobalt silicides at the substrate/thin film interface.

The bismuth carbamate Bi(O2CNPr(i)2)3, a tetramer in the solid-state, has been synthesized and used to deposit mixtures of bismuth oxides by aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD). The nature of the deposited oxide is a function of both temperature and run-time. Initially, δ-Bi2O3 is deposited, over which grows a thick layer of β-Bi2O3 nanowires, the latter having an increasing degree of preferred orientation at higher deposition temperatures. The photocatalytic activity of a thin film of δ-Bi2O3 for the degradation of methylene blue dye was found to be similar to that of a commercial TiO2 film on glass, while the film overcoated with β-Bi2O3 nanowires was less active. Exposure of Bi(O2CNPr(i)2)3 to controlled amounts of moist air affords the novel oxo-cluster Bi8(O)6(O2CNPr(i)2)12, whose structure has also been determined.

A series of unsymmetrical nickel -diketonate derivatives have been synthesised and structurally characterised for application as atmospheric-pressure metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (AP-MOCVD) precursors for nickel oxide.[a]

A novel family of zinc bis(β-ketoiminate) complexes 2b-2h have been synthesized by reaction of the isolated free ligands 1a-h with dimethylzinc. The isolated zinc complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, NMR spectroscopy, and in the case of 2b-d and 2f-h, the molecular structures of the complexes were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction which reveals the compounds to be pseudo-octahedral six-coordinate, monomeric homoleptic

Zinc titanate films are converted into porous anatase showing a 12-fold increase in rate compared to non-porous titania films.