Heterocyclic dithiocarbamato-iron(III) complexes: single-source precursors for aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) of iron sulfide thin films

Sixberth Mlowe; David J. Lewis; Mohammad Azad Malik; James Raftery; Egid B. Mubofu; Paul O'Brien; Neerish Revaprasadu

doi:10.1039/C5DT03881B

Heterocyclic dithiocarbamato-iron(iii) complexes: single-source precursors for aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) of iron sulfide thin films†

Sixberth Mlowe,^a David J. Lewis,^b Mohammad Azad Malik,^ab James Raftery,^b Egid B. Mubofu,^c Paul O'Brien^b and Neerish Revaprasadu*^a

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* Corresponding authors

^a Department of Chemistry, University of Zululand, Private Bag X1001, KwaDlangezwa, South Africa
E-mail: RevaprasaduN@unizulu.ac.za

^b Schools of Chemistry and Materials, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, UK

^c Department of Chemistry, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 35061, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Abstract

Tris-(piperidinedithiocarbamato)iron(III) (1) and tris-(tetrahydroquinolinedithiocarbamato)iron(III) (2) complexes have been synthesized and their single-crystal X-ray structures were determined. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the complexes showed decomposition to iron sulfide. Both complexes were then used as single-source precursors for the deposition of iron sulfide thin films by aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD). Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy confirmed the formation of iron sulfide films. The addition of tert-butyl thiol almost doubled the sulfur content in the deposited films. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the iron sulfide films from both complexes showed flakes/leaves/sheets, spherical granules and nanofibres. The sizes and shapes of these crystallites depended on the nature of the precursor, temperature, solvent and the amount of tert-butyl thiol used. The observed optical properties are dependent upon the variation of reaction parameters such as temperature and solvent. Powder X-ray diffraction (p-XRD) studies revealed that pyrrhotite, hexagonal (Fe_0.975S), marcasite and smythite (Fe₃S₄) phases were differently deposited.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C5DT03881B
Article type: Paper
Submitted: 05 Oct 2015
Accepted: 16 Dec 2015
First published: 18 Dec 2015
This article is Open Access

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Dalton Trans., 2016,45, 2647-2655

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Heterocyclic dithiocarbamato-iron(III) complexes: single-source precursors for aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) of iron sulfide thin films

S. Mlowe, D. J. Lewis, M. A. Malik, J. Raftery, E. B. Mubofu, P. O'Brien and N. Revaprasadu, Dalton Trans., 2016, 45, 2647 DOI: 10.1039/C5DT03881B

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Dalton Transactions

Heterocyclic dithiocarbamato-iron(iii) complexes: single-source precursors for aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) of iron sulfide thin films†

Abstract

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Article information

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Heterocyclic dithiocarbamato-iron(III) complexes: single-source precursors for aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) of iron sulfide thin films

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