In situ formation of inhibitor species through catalytic surface reactions during area-selective atomic layer deposition of TaN.

Small molecule inhibitors (SMIs) have been gaining attention in the field of area-selective atomic layer deposition (ALD) because they can be applied in the vapor-phase. A major challenge for SMIs is that vapor-phase application leads to a disordered inhibitor layer with lower coverage as compared to self-assembled monolayers, SAMs. A lower coverage of SMIs makes achieving high selectivity for area-selective ALD more challenging.

Chemical synthesis of complex oxide thin films and freestanding membranes.

Oxides offer unique physical and chemical properties that inspire rapid advances in materials chemistry to design and nanoengineer materials compositions and implement them in devices for a myriad of applications. Chemical deposition methods are gaining attention as a versatile approach to develop complex oxide thin films and nanostructures by properly selecting compatible chemical precursors and designing an accurate cost-effective thermal treatment. Here, upon describing the basics of chemical solution deposition (CSD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD), some examples of the growth of chemically-deposited functional complex oxide films that can have applications in energy and electronics are discussed.

Homogeneous FeO coatings on carbon nanotube structures for supercapacitors.

The combination of carbon nanotubes with transition metal oxides can exhibit complementary charge storage properties for use as electrode materials for next generation energy storage devices. One of the biggest challenges so far is to synthesize homogeneous oxide coatings on carbon nanotube structures preserving their integrity. Here we present the formation of conformal coatings of FeO on vertically aligned carbon nanotubes obtained by atomic layer deposition.

Enhancing Magneto-Ionic Effects in Magnetic Nanostructured Films via Conformal Deposition of Nanolayers with Oxygen Acceptor/Donor Capabilities.

Effective manipulation of the magnetic properties of nanostructured metallic alloys, exhibiting intergrain porosity (i.e., channels) and conformally coated with insulating oxide nanolayers, with an electric field is demonstrated.

Magneto-ionic control of magnetism in two-oxide nanocomposite thin films comprising mesoporous cobalt ferrite conformally nanocoated with HfO.

Advances in nanotechnology require of robust methods to fabricate new types of nanostructured materials whose properties can be controlled at will using simple procedures. Nanoscale composites can benefit from actuation protocols that involve mutual interfacial interactions on the nanoscale. Herein, a method to create nanoscale composite thin films consisting of mesoporous cobalt ferrite (CFO) whose pore walls are nanocoated with HfO2 is presented.