Metal
acetylacetonate complexes have high potentiality in nanoscale
fabrication processes (e.g., focus electron beam-induced deposition)
thanks to the versatile character and ease of preparation compounds.
In this work, we study and compare the physics and the physicochemistry
induced by the interaction of low-energy (<10 eV) electrons with
nickel(II) and cobalt(II) bis(acetylacetonate) complexes. The slow
particles decompose the molecules via dissociative electron attachment.
The nickel(II) and cobalt(II) bis(acetylacetonate) anions and the
acetylacetonate negative fragments are the most dominant detected
species. The experimental data are completed with density functional
theory calculations to provide information on the electronic states
of the molecules and the energetics for fragmentation. Finally, it
is found that the interaction of low-energy electrons resulting in
the decomposition of organometallic complexes in the gas phase is
more efficient with the nickel(II) than with the cobalt(II) bis(acetylacetonate)
complex. These results are found to be in a relative agreement with
the surface experiments.