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High Vacuum Deposition of Biferrocene Thin Films on Room Tem- perature Substrates

Leber, R; Wilson, LE; Robaschik, P; Inkpen, MS; Payne, DJ; Long, NJ; Albrecht, T; ... Heutz, S; + view all (2017) High Vacuum Deposition of Biferrocene Thin Films on Room Tem- perature Substrates. Chemistry of Materials , 29 (20) pp. 8663-8669. Green open access

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Abstract

Metallocenes are promising candidates for future spintronic devices due to their versatile and tunable magnetic properties. However, single metallocenes, e. g. ferrocene, sublimate below room temperature and therefore the implementation for future applications is challenging. Here, a method to prepare biferrocene thin films using organic molecular beam deposition (OMBD) is presented, and the effect of substrate and deposition rate on the film structure and morphology as well as its chemical and magnetic properties is investigated. On Kapton and Si substrates, biferrocene interacts only weakly with the substrate and distinct grains scattered over the surface are observed. By incorporating a 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) seeding layer and depositing biferrocene at high deposition rates of 1.0 Ås-1, it is possible to achieve a well-ordered densely packed film. With spintronic applications in mind, the magnetic properties of the thin films are characterized using superconducting quantum interference magnetometry (SQUID). Whereas initial SQUID measurements show weak ferromagnetic behaviour up to room temperature due to oxidized molecule fragments, measurements of biferrocene on PTCDA capped with LiF show the diamagnetic behaviour expected of biferrocene. Through the successful deposition of biferrocene thin films and the ability to control the spin state, these results demonstrate a first step towards metallocene-based spintronics.

Type: Article
Title: High Vacuum Deposition of Biferrocene Thin Films on Room Tem- perature Substrates
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Publisher version: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.chemmater....
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > London Centre for Nanotechnology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1573519
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