Deposition and characterization of ZnO thin films from a novel hexanuclear zinc precursor

The high nuclearity zinc complex, Zn-6(OAc)(8)(mu-OH)(2)(dmae)(2)(dmaeH)(2) (1) (OAc = acetate and dmaeH = N,N'-dimethylaminoethanol), having a low decomposition temperature and sufficiently high solubility in non-polar solvents, was synthesized by a simple chemical technique in high yield and analyzed by melting point, elemental analysis, FTIR, NMR, single crystal X-ray crystallography and thermal analysis. Aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition technique was used to deposit a high-quality thin film with good adhesion to the glass substrate at relatively low temperature (320 degrees C). Scanning electron microscopy of the film shows clearly distinct crystallites of uniform shape with 2.4-2.9 mu m size. Powder X-ray diffraction measurements have indicated the deposition of a crystalline phase of hexagonal ZnO with space group P63mc. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.