Thermal chemistry of copper(I)-N,N 0-di-sec-butylacetamidinate on Cu(110) single-crystal surfaces

The surface chemistry of copper(I)-N,N0-di-sec-butylacetamidinate on Cu(110) single-crystal surfaces has been characterized under ultrahigh vacuum by temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. A series of thermal stepwise conversions were identified, starting with the partial dissociative adsorption of the copper acetamidinate dimers into a mixture of monomers and dimers on the surface. An early dissociation of a C–N bond leads to the production of N-sec-butylacetamidine, which is detected in TPD experiments in three temperature regimes, the last one centered around 480 K. Butene, and a small amount of butane, is also detected above approximately 500 K, and hydrogen production, an indication of dehydrogenation of surface fragments, is observed at 460, 550 and 670 K. In total, only about 10% of the initial copper(I)N,N0-di-sec-butylacetamidinate adsorbed monolayer decomposes, and only about 3% of carbon is left behind on the surface after heating to high temperatures. The implications of this surface chemistry to the design of chemical film growth processes using copper acetamidinates as precursors are discussed.VC 2012 American Vacuum Society. [DOI: 10.1116/1.3658381]