Additive-free spin coating of tin oxide thin films: synthesis, characterization and evaluation of tin β-ketoiminates as a new precursor class for solution deposition processes

Targeting Manganese Amidinate and ß-Ketoiminate Complexes as Precursors for Mn-Based Thin Film Deposition

With a focus on Mn based organometallic compounds with suitable physico-chemical properties to serve as precursors for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Mn-containing materials, systematic synthetic approaches with ligand variation, detailed characterization, and theoretical input from density functional theory (DFT) studies are presented. A series of new homoleptic all-nitrogen and mixed oxygen/nitrogen-coordinated Mn(II) complexes bearing the acetamidinate, formamidinate, guanidinate and ß-ketoiminate ligands have been successfully synthesized for the first time. The specific choice of these ligand classes with changes in structure and coordination sphere and side chain variations result in significant structural differences whereby mononuclear and dinuclear complexes are formed. This was supported by density functional theory (DFT) studies. The compounds were thoroughly characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction, magnetic measurements, mass spectrometry and elemental analysis. To evaluate their suitability as precursors for deposition of Mn-based materials, the thermal properties were investigated in detail. Mn(II) complexes possessing the most promising thermal properties, namely Bis(N,N'-ditertbutylformamidinato)manganese(II) (IV) and Bis(4-(isopropylamino)pent-3-en-2-onato)manganese(II) (ßIII) were used in reactivity studies with DFT to explore their interaction with oxidizing co-reactants such as oxygen and water which will guide future CVD and ALD process development.

Photoexcitation-induced passivation of SnO2 thin film for efficient perovskite solar cells

A high-quality tin oxide electron transport layer (ETL) is a key common factor to achieve high-performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, the conventional annealing technique to prepare high-quality ETLs by continuous heating under near-equilibrium conditions requires high temperatures and a long fabrication time. Alternatively, we present a non-equilibrium, photoexcitation-induced passivation technique that uses multiple ultrashort laser pulses. The ultrafast photoexcitation and following electron-electron and electron-phonon scattering processes induce ultrafast annealing to efficiently passivate surface and bulk defects, and improve the crystallinity of SnO2, resulting in suppressing the carrier recombination and facilitating the charge transport between the ETL and perovskite interface. By rapidly scanning the laser beam, the annealing time is reduced to several minutes, which is much more efficient compared with conventional thermal annealing. To demonstrate the university and scalability of this technique, typical antisolvent and antisolvent-free processed hybrid organic-inorganic metal halide PSCs have been fabricated and achieved the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.14% and 22.75% respectively, and a 12-square-centimeter module antisolvent-free processed perovskite solar module achieves a PCE of 20.26%, with significantly enhanced performance both in PCE and stability. This study establishes a new approach towards the commercialization of efficient low-temperature manufacturing of PSCs.

A facile approach to C-functionalized β-ketoimine compounds via terminal alkylation of a tetralithiated intermediate

A series of C-functionalized β-ketoimine compounds at the terminal methyl groups of the β-ketoimine precursor L^phH₂ (L^ph = C₆H₄[NC(Me)CHC(Me)O]₂) were prepared. This convenient transformation was realized via straightforward double alkylation on the terminal C_α of a novel bis-dianionic β-ketoiminate lithium complex [L^ph'Li₄(THF)₄]₂ (L^ph' = C₆H₄[NC(Me)CHC(O)CH₂]₂) followed by hydrolysis.

Novel Heteroleptic Tin(II) Complexes Capable of Forming SnO and SnO2 Thin Films Depending on Conditions Using Chemical Solution Deposition

A new heteroleptic complex series of tin was synthesized by the salt metathesis reaction of SnX₂ (X = Cl, Br, and I) with aminoalkoxide and various N-alkoxy-functionalized carboxamide ligands. The complexes, [ClSn(dmamp)]₂ (1), [BrSn(dmamp)]₂ (2), and [ISn(dmamp)]₂ (3), were prepared from the salt metathesis reaction of SnX₂ with one equivalent of dmamp; [Sn(dmamp)(empa)]₂ (4), [Sn(dmamp)(mdpa)]₂ (5), and [Sn(dmamp)(edpa)]₂ (6) were prepared via the salt metathesis reaction using complex 2 with one equivalent of N-alkoxy-functionalized carboxamide ligand. Complexes 1-5 displayed dimeric molecular structures with tin metal centers interconnected by μ₂-O bonding via the alkoxy oxygen atom. The molecular structures of complexes 1-5 showed distorted trigonal bipyramidal geometries with lone pair electrons in the equatorial position. Using complex 6 as a tin precursor, SnO _x films were deposited by chemical solution deposition (CSD) and subsequent post-deposition annealing (PDA) at high temperatures. SnO and SnO₂ films were selectively obtained under controlled PDA atmospheres of argon and oxygen, respectively. The SnO films featured a tetragonal romarchite structure with high crystallinity and a preferred growth orientation along the (101) plane. They also exhibited a lower transmittance of >52% at 400 nm due to an optical band gap of 2.9 eV. In contrast, the SnO₂ films exhibited a tetragonal cassiterite crystal structure and an extremely high transmittance of >97% at 400 nm was observed with an optical band gap of 3.6 eV.

SnO via Water Based ALD employing Tin(II) Formamidinate: Precursor Characterization and Process Development

Tin monoxide (SnO) is a promising oxide semiconductor which is appealing for a range of applications ranging from channel materials in p-type field effect transistors (FET) to electrode materials searched...