Cation-doped perovskite materials based on barium titanate, such as (Ba,Sr)(Ti,Nb)O3, are of interest as transparent ceramic semiconductors with conductivity strongly dependent both on the cation and the oxygen stoichiometry. Development of precursor systems offering proper control over the cation stoichiometry and permitting to efficiently avoid residual carbon impurities is therefore an important problem. In the present communication we report the synthesis and structural characterization of a series of hetero-metallic precursors of these materials with the general formulae M2 IITi2(L)4(OR)8(ROH)2 and M2 IIM2 V(L)2(OR)12(ROH)2, where R = Et, nPr; MII = Ba, Sr; MV = Nb, Ta; L = thd or R’OAcAc (R’ = tBu, iPr). The compounds have been characterized by single crystal and power X-ray and by 1H and 13C NMR, vibration spectroscopy and mass-spectrometry. These species are very stable in solution and display even considerable gas phase stability. Solution microhydrolysis of the molecules in these series leads most often to oxo-aggregates with the cation stoichiometry rather close to 1:1, which additionally simplifies handling of solutions based on these precursors. The obtained precursors have been used for preparation of powders and films (on Si substrates), which were characterized by SEM-EDS and X-ray powder techniques.

Suresh Gohil

Papers

Molecular Precursors of Mixed Oxide Materials for Sensor Applications and Molecular Imaging