Magnetic Field-Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition of UO2 Thin Films.

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of UO2 thin films from in situ reductive decomposition using a U(VI) precursor ([U(OtBu)6]) was performed under applied magnetic fields (up to 1 T). The molecular mechanism responsible for the formation of U(IV) oxide was determined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis of gaseous byproducts revealed a reductive transformation of uranium hexakis-tert-butoxide into urania. Thin films were grown under zero-field and applied magnetic field conditions that clearly showed the guiding influence of the magnetic field on altering the morphology and crystallographic orientation of grains in UO2 deposits produced under an external magnetic field. Application of magnetic fields was found to reduce the grain size. Whereas films with a ⟨111⟩ preferred orientation were observed under zero-field conditions, the application of magnetic fields (500 mT to 1 T) promoted a polycrystalline growth. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed the formation of UO2 films with traces of U(VI) centers present on the surface, which was evidently due to the surface oxidation of coordinatively unsaturated U(IV) centers, which was found to be significantly reduced in the field-assisted process. These findings emphasize the positive effect of magnetic fields on controlling the texture and chemical homogeneity of CVD-grown films. The availability of a magnetic field as an extrinsic parameter for the CVD process adds to the conventional parameters, such as temperature, deposition time, and pressure, and expands the experimental space for thin-film growth.

Gelation of uranyl ions and gel-derived uranium oxide nanoparticles for gas sensing.

We developed a sol-gel method to synthesize uranium oxide nanoparticles with a clean surface and mixed valences of uranium at the surface. Uranyl gel was formed in ethylene glycol without incorporating any organic gelator and was readily converted to uranium dioxide nanoparticles with uniform size via microwave treatment. The as-prepared uranyl gel showed a high storage modulus of 0.48 kPa. The formation of the gel skeleton benefits from interlinkage of uranyl ions, which was revealed by UV-Vis spectroscopy and X-ray absorption. The U[double bond, length as m-dash]Oax bond was elongated by 0.1 Šand the U-Oeq bond was shortened by 0.25 Šby the gelation. The gel showed thixotropic and self-healing properties owing to the soft connection in the gel skeleton and photo-response attributed to the photo-reduction reaction between uranyl ions and matrix solvent. With the great inclusion properties, the uranyl gel was decomposed by microwave treatment into uranium dioxide nanoparticles with a size of ∼4 nm. The resultant UO2 nanoparticles were easily oxidized in air, and thus presented an n-type semiconductor behaviour and sensitivity to both oxidative and reductive gases such as NO2, EtOH, CO, and NH3.

Volatile Rhenium(I) Compounds with Re-N Bonds and Their Conversion into Oriented Rhenium Nitride Films by Magnetic Field-Assisted Vapor Phase Deposition.

New heteroleptic rhenium(I) compounds, [fac-Re(I)(CO)3(L)] (e.g., L= tfb-dmpda, (N,N-(4,4,4-trifluorobut-1-en-3-on)-dimethyl propylene diamine)), containing anionic and neutral ligands act as efficient precursors to grow polycrystalline rhenium nitride (ReN) films by their vapor phase deposition at 600 °C. Deposition of ReN films under an external magnetic field showed an orientation effect with preferred growth of crystallites along ⟨100⟩ direction. Rhenium complexes reported here unify high stability and reactivity in a single molecule through a Janus-type coordination around a Re center, constituted by a chelating tridentate ligand and three carbonyl groups imparting a facial geometry. Single-crystal diffraction analysis confirmed the structural integrity of the new rhenium compounds. The rigidity of molecular framework was validated in solution via 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, in the gas phase via mass spectrometry, and in the solid-state by thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry studies. The analytical data showed that pre-existent Re-N bonds in [fac-Re(I)(CO)3(L)] facilitated low-temperature formation of crystalline ReN deposits confirmed by grazing angle X-ray diffraction analysis. The surface chemical composition and the uniformity of microstructure were provided by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM/TEM), respectively.

Chemical Vapor Deposition of Phase-Pure Uranium Dioxide Thin Films from Uranium(IV) Amidate Precursors.

Homoleptic uranium(IV) amidate complexes have been synthesized and applied as single-source molecular precursors for the chemical vapor deposition of UO2 thin films. These precursors decompose by alkene elimination to give highly crystalline phase-pure UO2 films with an unusual branched heterostructure.

Synthesis of air-stable, volatile uranium(IV) and (VI) compounds and their gas-phase conversion to uranium oxide films.

Four air-stable, volatile uranium heteroarylalkenolates have been synthesized and characterized by three synthetic approaches and their gas phase deposition to uranium oxide films has been examined.

Synthesis and insertion chemistry of mixed tether uranium metallocene complexes.

The synthesis of mixed tethered alkyl uranium metallocenes has been investigated by examining the reactivity of the bis(tethered alkyl) metallocene [(η(5)-C(5)Me(4)SiMe(2)CH(2)-κC)(2)U] (1) with substrates that react with only one of the U-C linkages. The effect of these mixed tether coordination environments on the reactivity of the remaining U-C bond has been studied by using CO insertion chemistry. One equivalent of azidoadamantane (AdN(3)) reacts with 1 to yield the mixed tethered alkyl triazenido complex [(η(5)-C(5)Me(4)SiMe(2)CH(2)-κC)U(η(5)-C(5)Me(4)SiMe(2)-CH(2)NNN-Ad-κ(2)N(1,3))]. Similarly, a single equivalent of CS(2) reacts with 1 to form the mixed tethered alkyl dithiocarboxylate complex [(η(5)-C(5)Me(4)SiMe(2)CH(2)-κC)U(η(5)-C(5)Me(4)SiMe(2)-CH(2)C(S)(2)-κ(2)S,S')], a reaction that constitutes the first example of CS(2) insertion into a U(4+)-C bond. Complex 1 reacts with one equivalent of pyridine N-oxide by C-H bond activation of the pyridine ring to form a mixed tethered alkyl cyclometalated pyridine N-oxide complex [(η(5)-C(5)Me(4)SiMe(2)CH(2)-κC)(η(5)-C(5)Me(4)SiMe(3))U(C(6)H(4)NO-κ(2)C,O)]. The remaining (η(5)-C(5)Me(4)SiMe(2)CH(2)-κC)(2-) ligand in each of these mixed tethered species show reactivity towards CO and tethered enolate ligands form by insertion. Subsequent rearrangement have been identified in [(η(5)-C(5)Me(4)SiMe(3))U(C(5)H(4)NO-κ(2)C,O)(η(5)-C(5)Me(4)SiMe(2)C(=CH(2))O-κO)] and [(η(5)-C(5)Me(4)SiMe(2)CH(2)NNN-Ad-κ(2)N(1,3))U(η(5)-C(5)Me(4)SiMe(2)C(=CH(2))O-κO)].