New palladium(II) β-ketoesterates for focused electron beam induced deposition: synthesis, structures, and characterization.

We report the synthesis and characterization of new palladium(II) β-ketoesterate complexes [Pd(CHCOCHCOR)] with alkyl substituents R = Bu, Pr, Et. These compounds can have potential use in focused electron beam induced deposition (FEBID), which is a direct write method for the growth of structures at the nanoscale. However, it is still a major challenge to obtain deposits with a high metal content, and new precursor molecules are needed to overcome this.