This award will support collaborative research between Prof. Leonard Interrante of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Dr. Patrick Cassoux of the Laboratory for Coordination Chemistry of CNRS, Toulouse, France, on the chemistry of transition metal compounds. Molecular and polymeric precursors to selected transition metal silicides, carbides, and nitrides will be synthesized and studied. The objective of this work is to increase our fundamental understanding of the pyrolysis chemistry of potential organo-metallic and coordination compound precursors and the relationship of this pyrolysis chemistry to molecular structure. Various materials may be inserted into the organometallic derivatives of the pyrolytically reacting constituents. The effect of different materials on the temperatures at which these derivatives decompose, and on the composition of the solid reaction products, will be studied, using both thermal analysis methods and by the identification of the pyrolysis products. Particular emphasis will be placed on the silicides of tungsten, molybdenum, and other refractory metals, but additional investigations of the carbides and nitrides of Ti, Zr, and Hf will also be made. The U.S. and French collaborators will continue joint efforts begun several years ago. The French collaborator has considerable experience in the area of transition metal coordination chemistry and overall, the group in France has analysis experience and equipment complementary to that available at the U.S. institution. The refractory metal compounds to be considered are of importance in evolving semiconductor technologies. Their low-temperature pyrolytic deposition, which could be made possible as a result of this research, would be of considerable significance.
