Observation of visible light activated photocatalytic degradation of stearic acid on thin films of tantalum oxynitride synthesized by aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition.

UV activated photocatalysts deposited using chemical vapour deposition have found commercial success as self-cleaning coatings. However, only limited work has been conducted on the use of the more recently discovered visible light activated photocatalysis for this application. Tantalum oxynitride is an established visible light photocatalyst, and in this paper we have investigated the ability of thin films of tantalum oxynitride to photocatalytically degrade a model organic pollutant, stearic acid, and therefore assess the coatings potential for self-cleaning applications.

Phosphinecarboxamide as an unexpected phosphorus precursor in the chemical vapour deposition of zinc phosphide thin films.

This paper demonstrates the use of phosphinecarboxamide as a facile phosphorus precursor, which can be used alongside zinc acetate for the chemical vapour deposition (CVD) of adherent and crystalline zinc phosphide films. Thin films of Zn3P2 have a number of potential applications and phosphinecarboxamide is a safer and more efficient precursor than the highly toxic, corrosive and flammable phosphine used in previous CVD syntheses.

Combining single source chemical vapour deposition precursors to explore the phase space of titanium oxynitride thin films.

In this paper we report on a novel chemical vapour deposition approach to the formation and control of composition of mixed anion materials, as applied to titanium oxynitride thin films. The method used is the aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) of a mixture of single source precursors. To explore the titanium-oxygen-nitrogen system the single source precursors selected were tetrakis(dimethylamido) titanium and titanium tetraisopropoxide which individually are precursors to thin films of titanium nitride and titanium dioxide respectively.

Order of magnitude increase in photocatalytic rate for hierarchically porous anatase thin films synthesized from zinc titanate coatings.

In this paper we report on the use of aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) to form thin films of the zinc titanate phases using zinc acetate and titanium isopropoxide as precursors in methanol solution. Analysis by XRD and XPS found that through variation in experimental conditions we have been able to synthesize films of zinc titanate with composition of ZnTiO or ZnTiO, which adopt the spinel and pseudobrookite structure respectively. In addition, we have also formed hybrid films of ZnTiO with either ZnTiO or ZnO.

Tailoring precursors for deposition: synthesis, structure, and thermal studies of cyclopentadienylcopper(i) isocyanide complexes.

We report here the synthesis and characterization of a family of copper(I) metal precursors based around cyclopentadienyl and isocyanide ligands. The molecular structures of several cyclopentadienylcopper(I) isocyanide complexes have been unambiguously determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Thermogravimetric analysis of the complexes highlighted the isopropyl isocyanide complex [(η(5)-C5H5)Cu(CN(i)Pr)] (2a) and the tert-butyl isocyanide complex [(η(5)-C5H5)Cu(CN(t)Bu)] (2b) as possible copper metal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) precursors.