Synthesis, characterization and investigation of the thermal behaviour of six novel polynuclear cobalt and copper complexes for potential application in MOCVD

New tetranuclear complexes of copper and cobalt have been prepared under ambient conditions from corresponding metal acetates in acetone, using triethanolamine and diethanolamine as the ligands. The complexes have been characterized by infrared spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy, elemental analysis and thermal analysis. The mass spectra of the complexes show that the complexes retain the acetate moiety in their structures. Simultaneous thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TGA-DTA) reveal that the complexes are solids that sublime over the temperature range 50-100 degrees C, under atmospheric pressure. The TGA-DTA curves reveal that the complexes retain carbon at temperatures as high as 500 degrees C. The presence of carbon is known to limit the mobility of growth species for oxides, restricting them to nanometersized crystals. Thus, the complexes have potential applications as precursors in the growth of nanostructured metal oxide thin films under specific CVD conditions. Because of their low sublimability, the complexes are prospective candidates as precursors for low-temperature growth of multilayer oxide thin films where the thickness of individual layers needs to be controlled at nanometer level and for introducing dopants at low concentrations by MOCVD technique. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.