Structure and properties of tin‐containing polymers deposited from tetramethyltin HF plasma

Abstract

SYNOPSISThere has been an increasing interest in depositing metal or metal-containing thin films through plasma polymerization for various applications. This work deals with the plasma graft polymerization of tetramethyltin (TMT) on polypropylene surfaces with an aim of producing special electrical and optical coatings. The fragmentation of TMT under cold plasma conditions and the recombination of discharge-generated active species were studied by analyzing the resulting molecular mixture trapped outside of the plasma zone by HR-MS and GC-MS techniques. It was found that the predominant ionic fragment is m/z = 165, and the most probable intermediate structure of the polymer formation mechanism is hexamethylditin. The structure of polymeric layers deposited on various substrates were investigated by ESCA and FT-IR methods. Intense oxidation of tin-based polymeric layers were observed under open laboratory conditions. The existence of weak Sn-Sn and Sn-C bonds in the polymeric structures is suggested to be responsible for this reaction. This phenomenon was associated with enhanced UV transparency. Based on analytical data a plasma-enhanced polymerization mechanism of TMT is proposed. 0 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Film Chemistry Control and Electrochemical Properties of Pulsed Plasma Polymerized Ferrocene and Vinylferrocene

“…In recognition of this latter consideration, an increasing emphasis in plasma studies has focused on compositional control of the films synthesized. Examples of these earlier efforts include variations in the location of the substrates relative to the plasma zone, − variation of substrate temperatures, , use of variable ratios of reactant gases, , and varying the methods in which the metals are introduced into the reactor (e.g., simultaneous polymerization and sputter etching, cosputtering from multicomponent metal/polymer targets, polymerization of organometallic monomers, etc.). The present paper examines an alternate and simpler approach to providing this film chemistry compositional controllabilitynamely, the use of a variable duty cycle pulsed plasma.…”

Pulsed Plasma Polymerization of Tetramethyltin: Nanoscale Compositional Control of Film Chemistry

“…The use of plasma deposition processes for synthesis of thin-film organometallic films is an exceedingly active research area at the present time. A notable example of this activity has been synthesis of organotin films. − No doubt, a major motivation in the tin studies, as well as in investigations of other metal-containing films, arises from the numerous potential applications of these films which include gas sensors, − optical filters, , and adhesive layers 1,2 to mention but a few of the uses which have been identified.…”

Identification of fragment ions produced by the decomposition of tetramethyltin and the production of low-energy Sn+ ion beam

“…Meanwhile, tetramethyltin (TMT, (CH 3 ) 4 Sn) seems to be an appropriate source material for Sn-containing film formations [ 18 – 28 ]. Fragmentation [ 19 , 29 ], pyrolysis [ 30 ], thermolysis [ 31 ], and plasmolysis [ 32 ] of TMT have been investigated.…”

“…We have investigated fragment ions produced from several different source materials such as methylsilane [ 33 ], dimethylsilane [ 34 ], hexamethyldisilane [ 35 ], hexamethyldisiloxane [ 36 ], tetraethylorthosilicate [ 37 ], hexamethyldisilazane [ 38 ], and hexamethyldigermane [ 39 ] in a Freeman-type ion source. Although the fragmentation of TMT has already been reported [ 19 , 29 ], no experiments have been performed to identify fragment ions produced from TMT in ion sources and to produce low-energy beams of Sn ions through the decomposition of TMT. In this study, fragment ions produced from TMT in a Freeman-type ion source were firstly identified.…”