Low Energy Electron- and Ion-Induced Surface Reactions of Fe(CO)5 Thin Films

Using in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), the effects of low energy (500 eV) electrons and low energy (1200 eV) Ar+ ions on thin films of Fe­(CO)5, a prototypical organometallic precursor, have been investigated. These studies were motivated by the important role that these surface react...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of physical chemistry. C Vol. 125; no. 32; pp. 17749 - 17760
Main Authors: Bilgilisoy, Elif, Thorman, Rachel M, Barclay, Michael S, Marbach, Hubertus, Fairbrother, D. Howard
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: American Chemical Society 19-08-2021
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Summary:Using in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), the effects of low energy (500 eV) electrons and low energy (1200 eV) Ar+ ions on thin films of Fe­(CO)5, a prototypical organometallic precursor, have been investigated. These studies were motivated by the important role that these surface reactions play in the charged-particle-induced deposition of nanostructures. XPS data from the C­(1s) and O­(1s) regions were used to construct kinetic models to describe the effects of electron and ion irradiation, both of which occurred through a sequence of two sequential surface reactions, although the details of each step differ. During electron irradiation, precursor molecules initially decompose as a result of electronic excitation, resulting in desorption of approximately 50% of the CO ligands and partial decarbonylation within the Fe­(CO)5 film. In the second step, the partially decarbonylated intermediates undergo a much slower electron-stimulated CO decomposition process to produce iron oxides encased in a graphitic film. Fe2(CO)9 and Fe3(CO)12 reacted similarly to Fe­(CO)5, but the initial rate of decomposition was an order of magnitude higher. During Ar+ bombardment, Fe­(CO)5 molecules decompose as a consequence of energy transfer from the incident ions, causing complete fragmentation of the precursor and desorption of ≈80% of the CO molecules. The remaining 20% undergo CO bond cleavage, forming adsorbed carbon and volatile oxygen species. In the second step of the reaction, the residual iron and carbon atoms are subject to Ar+ ion sputtering. The implications of these reactions for focused ion beam-induced deposition (FIBID) and focused electron beam-induced deposition (FEBID) from Fe­(CO)5 are also discussed.
ISSN:1932-7447
1932-7455
DOI:10.1021/acs.jpcc.1c05826