Iron-Terephthalate Coordination Network Thin Films Through In-Situ Atomic/Molecular Layer Deposition

Iron terephthalate coordination network thin films can be fabricated using the state-of-the-art gas-phase atomic/molecular layer deposition (ALD/MLD) technique in a highly controlled manner. Iron is an Earth-abundant and nonhazardous transition metal, and with its rich variety of potential applications an interesting metal constituent for the inorganic-organic coordination network films. Our work underlines the role of the metal precursor used when aiming at in-situ ALD/MLD growth of crystalline inorganic-organic thin films. We obtain crystalline iron terephthalate films when FeCl₃ is employed as the iron source whereas depositions based on the bulkier Fe(acac)₃ precursor yield amorphous films. The chemical composition and structure of the films are investigated with GIXRD, XRR, FTIR and XPS.