Ligand Size and Carbon-Chain Length Study of Silver Carboxylates in Focused Electron-Beam-Induced Deposition
J. Jurczyk1,2,†, K. Höflich3,4, K. Madajska5, L. Berger1, L. Brockhuis1,2, T.E.J. Edwards1, C. Kapusta2, I.B. Szymańska5 and I. Utke1
Published in:
Nanomaterials, vol. 13, no. 9, art. 1516, doi:10.3390/nano13091516 (2023).
Abstract:
Gas-assisted focused electron-beam-induced deposition is a versatile tool for the direct writing of complex-shaped nanostructures with unprecedented shape fidelity and resolution. While the technique is well-established for various materials, the direct electron beam writing of silver is still in its infancy. Here, we examine and compare five different silver carboxylates, three perfluorinated: [Ag2(µ-O2CCF3)2], [Ag2(µ-O2CC2F5)2], and [Ag2(µ-O2CC3F7)2], and two containing branched substituents: [Ag2(µ-O2CCMe2Et)2] and [Ag2(µ-O2CtBu)2], as potential precursors for focused electron-beam-induced deposition. All of the compounds show high sensitivity to electron dissociation and efficient dissociation of Ag-O bonds. The as-deposited materials have silver contents from 42 at.% to above 70 at.% and are composed of silver nano-crystals with impurities of carbon and fluorine between them. Precursors with the shortest carbon-fluorine chain ligands yield the highest silver contents. In addition, the deposited silver content depends on the balance of electron-induced ligand co-deposition and ligand desorption. For all of the tested compounds, low electron flux was related to high silver content. Our findings demonstrate that silver carboxylates constitute a promising group of precursors for gas-assisted focused electron beam writing of high silver content materials.
1 Laboratory for Mechanics of Materials and Nanostructures, Empa—Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Feuerwerkerstrasse 39, 3602 Thun, Switzerland
2 Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, AGH University of Krakow Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
3 Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin Für Materialien und Energie, Nanoscale Structures and Microscopic Analysis, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin, Germany
4 Ferdinand-Braun Institut, Leibniz-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik, Gustav-Kirchhoff-Str. 4, 12489 Berlin, Germany
5 Faculty of Chemistry, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Gagarina 7, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
† Current address: Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragòn, CSIC-Universidad de Zaragoza, C/Pedro Cerbuna, 12, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Keywords:
FEBID; nanoprinting; silver carboxylates
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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