Facile synthesis of a novel class of organometalloid-containing ligands, the sila-β-diketones: preparation and physical and structural characterization of the copper(II) complexes, Cu[R′C(O)CHC(O)SiR 3] 2

Abstract

The substitution of a carbon atom by silicon provides an attractive, novel approach to modification of the thermal stability and volatility of metal-organic chemical vapor deposition precursors supported by β-diketonate ancillary ligands. The low temperature reaction of the lithium enolates of acetyltrialkylsilanes with acyl chlorides affords the sila-β-diketones, R′C(O)CH 2C(O)SiR 3 (R′=Me, Et, n-Pr, i-Pr, n-Bu, i-Bu, s-Bu, t-Bu; SiR 3=SiMe 3, SiEt 3, SiMe 2( t-Bu), SiMe 2( t-hexyl), Si( i-Pr) 3), in good yields. Multinuclear NMR studies suggest that the sila-β-diketones exist as the enolic tautomer with a vinylsilane isomeric structure. Homoleptic Cu(II) sila-β-diketonate complexes were prepared in a first pass study to evaluate how precursor performance is affected by modulation of the peripheral substituents in the ligands. Thermal analyses, (TGA, DSC) show that the silylated Cu(II) precursors (SiR 3=SiMe 3; R′= t-Bu or i-Bu) have greater volatility than the corresponding carbon analogues. Some of the new Cu(II) complexes exist as liquids or low melting solids, which are preferred states for industrial deposition processes. X-ray diffraction studies of selected copper complexes showed them to have typical, square planar geometry; calculations of molecular volumes suggest that packing in the solid-state is less efficient for the silicon-containing complexes than for the non-silylated analogues.