Advances in Atomic Layer Deposition of Metal Sulfides: From a Precursors Perspective

Abstract

Development at the nanoscale has established diverse and complex structures with the help of a growing selection of materials to choose from. Among the major developments that has led to these creations is the atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique that allows precise linear stepwise synthesis of various nanomaterials, which is the defining feature of ALD. Recent research activities have recorded an upsurge in the synthesis and applications of metal sulfides created via this technique. This rise in research on ALD of metal sulfides has established varying methods to deposit each metal sulfide, which necessitates a review that can analyze the major and minor advancements that have been made in the field. Hence, this comprehensive review encompasses the various ALD techniques with which metal sulfides have been synthesized, followed by a thorough account of reported chemistry and parameters by which various kinds of metal and sulfide precursors react, and finally the existing, emerging, and potential applications that incorporate metal sulfide ALD.

Group 11–14 Triazenides : Synthesis, characterization, and thermal evaluation for use in chemical vapor deposition

“…For sulfide ALD, there has been progress in replacing the unpleasant H2S by organosulfide alternatives. 41 For example, di-tert-butyl disulfide has shown to deposit NiSx with no carbon impurities by XPS. 42 The authors suggest a β-hydride elimination, yielding surface bound SH and isopropene.…”

Reaction mechanism of nickel sulfide atomic layer deposition using bis(N,N′-di-tert-butylacetamidinato)nickel(ii) and hydrogen sulfide

“…Currently, Ni-based ALD precursors often include Ni( t Bu-MeAMD) 2 , Ni(acac) 2 , Ni(dmamb) 2 and Ni(thd) 2 . 15–32 Nickel sulfide ALD can be realized using bis( N , N ′-di- tert -butylacetamidinato)nickel( ii ) [Ni( t Bu-MeAMD) 2 ] and hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) to generate the N , N ′-di- tert -butylacetamidine ( t Bu-MeAMD-H) molecule. The reaction mechanism for NiS ALD can be written using two separate surface reactions, as follows:(A) Surf–SH* + Ni( t Bu-MeAMD )2 → Surf–S–Ni– t Bu-MeAMD* + t Bu-MeAMD-H(B) Surf–S–Ni– t Bu-MeAMD* + H 2 S → Surf–S–Ni–SH* + t Bu-MeAMD-Hwhere an asterisk designates a surface species.…”

“…In recent years, many works have focused on metal sulfides as electrode materials. [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] Metal-organic precursors and hydrogen sulfide are usually used for metal sulfide ALD. The study of metal sulfide ALD shows that the reaction process follows the ligand exchange mechanism, which is similar to the reaction process of metal oxides.…”

“…At present, the ALD process of many sulfides has been achieved, such as AlS x , ZnS, GaS x , WS 2 , MoS 2 , Li 2 S, Co 9 S 8 , NiS, MnS and FeS x . [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] Among these sulfides, nickel sulfide is a transition metal sulfide material and has many different forms, such as Ni 3 S 2 , NiS 2 and NiS. Because of its excellent chemical and catalytic activities, nickel sulfide can be used as a semiconductor material and in other fields, such as batteries, supercapacitors and photocatalysis.…”

“…Currently, Ni-based ALD precursors often include Ni( t Bu-MeAMD) 2 , Ni(acac) 2 , Ni(dmamb) 2 and Ni(thd) 2 . [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] Nickel sulfide ALD can be realized using bis(N,N 0 -di-tert-butylacetamidinato)nickel(II) [Ni( t Bu-MeAMD) 2 ] and hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) to generate the N,N 0 -di-tert-butylacetamidine ( t Bu-MeAMD-H) molecule.…”