Investigating Novel Reactivities of Transition Metal Complexes and Pathways in the Formation of Microelectronic Materials

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The Chemical Synthesis Program of the NSF Division of Chemistry supports the research of Professor Ziling (Ben) Xue of the University of Tennessee Knoxville for the investigation of metal oxide materials that are used in microelectronics. New materials, such as metal oxides which are used in the replacement silicon oxide in gate materials, are of intense current interest as they allow further device miniaturization. Metal oxide materials are synthesized from early transition metal complexes using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or atomic layer deposition (ALD) processes. While these materials can be very useful, it is often not clear how they are formed from reactions of precursor compounds with water or oxygen. The in-depth studies included in this project seek to understand the reactions of oxygen and water and thus indicate possible synthetic pathways to better commercial manufacturing of microelectronics devices. This research provides a good opportunity to train students to become future scientists in interdisciplinary areas of chemical synthesis and mechanistic studies. Female and underrepresented minority students, as well as high school students from areas of Tennessee with high poverty rates, are encouraged to participate in the research. Oxygen is a diradical. Many of its reactions are radical (one electron) in nature and are challenging to investigate especially with regard to reactions of oxygen and early transition metal complexes where ligand oxidation often occurs. This research probes the pathways for the formation of unusual zirconium peroxo complexes, investigates the reactivities of the peroxo complexes, and studies the reactions of other early transition metal complexes with oxygen. The complexes under study contain ligands with different electronic and steric properties. This research enhances the understanding of how metal complexes react with oxygen. The studies of the reactions between water and the complexes reveal the mechanistic pathways in the conversion of the complexes to metal oxides. The research also aids in the development new CVD/ALD precursors and processes for use in the synthesis of microelectronic materials.