Dr. Ziling (Ben) Xue is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Programof the Chemistry Division for the study of the reactions of d0 transition metal complexes with oxygen, water, and hydrosilanes. Specifically, the reaction of triplet and singlet oxygen with imides, amides, alkoxides, alkylidenes, alkylidynes, and related complexes of group 4, 5, and 6 metals will be characterized and mechanistically evaluated. Additionally, the reactions of the alkoxides of these metals with hydrosilanes will be investigated. To provide a comparison to the reactions involving O2 and hydrosilanes, the reactions of water with transition metal complexes will be evaluated as routes to metal oxides (MOn) and metal silicates (M-Si O). These investigations will define mechanistic pathways to microelectronic MOn and M-Si-O materials.
There is much current interest in MOn and M-Si-O species as high dielectric constant gate materials and as capacitor materials for dynamic random access memory devices. The reactions that will be studied in this project are known to yield thin MOn and M-Si-O films, respectively, by chemical vapor deposition. This project will systematize the details of these preparations and determine the mechanisms of the reactions. This will provide the foundational knowledge necessary to develop new routes to microelectronic materials. Additionally, the research will provide training of undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students in chemistry and materials science. Female and underrepresented minority students will participate in the project.
