Role of thermal stability and vapor pressure of bis(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedionato)magnesium(II) and its triamine adduct in producing magnesium oxide thin film using a plasma-assisted LICVD process

Thin films of magnesia were deposited on various substrates using plasma-assisted liquid injection chemical vapor deposition with volatile Mg(tmhd)2·2H2O (1) (tmhd = 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedione). The precursor complexes, Mg2(tmhd)4·(2), and Mg(tmhd)2·pmdien (3) (pmdien; N,N,N′,N″,N″-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine) were prepared from Mg(tmhd)2·2H2O (1). The temperature dependence equilibrium vapor pressure (pe)T data yielded a straight line when log pe was plotted against reciprocal temperature in the range of 360–475 K, leading to standard enthalpy of vaporization (ΔvapH°) values of 59 ± 1 and 67 ± 2 kJ mol− 1 for (2) and (3) respectively. Thin films of magnesium oxide were grown at 773 K using complex (1) on various substrate materials. These films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray for their composition and morphology.