Atomic layer deposition(ALD), a chemical vapor deposition technique based on sequential self-terminating gas–solid reactions, has for about four decades been applied for manufacturing conformal inorganic material layers with thickness down to the nanometer range. Despite the numerous successful applications of material growth by ALD, many physicochemical processes that control ALD growth are not yet sufficiently understood. To increase understanding of ALD processes, overviews are needed not only of the existing ALD processes and their applications, but also of the knowledge of the surface chemistry of specific ALD processes. This work aims to start the overviews on specific ALD processes by reviewing the experimental information available on the surface chemistry of the trimethylaluminum/water process. This process is generally known as a rather ideal ALD process, and plenty of information is available on its surface chemistry. This in-depth summary of the surface chemistry of one representative ALD process aims also to provide a view on the current status of understanding the surface chemistry of ALD, in general. The review starts by describing the basic characteristics of ALD, discussing the history of ALD—including the question who made the first ALD experiments—and giving an overview of the two-reactant ALD processes investigated to date. Second, the basic concepts related to the surface chemistry of ALD are described from a generic viewpoint applicable to all ALD processes based on compound reactants. This description includes physicochemical requirements for self-terminating reactions,reaction kinetics, typical chemisorption mechanisms, factors causing saturation, reasons for growth of less than a monolayer per cycle, effect of the temperature and number of cycles on the growth per cycle (GPC), and the growth mode. A comparison is made of three models available for estimating the sterically allowed value of GPC in ALD. Third, the experimental information on the surface chemistry in the trimethylaluminum/water ALD process are reviewed using the concepts developed in the second part of this review. The results are reviewed critically, with an aim to combine the information obtained in different types of investigations, such as growth experiments on flat substrates and reaction chemistry investigation on high-surface-area materials. Although the surface chemistry of the trimethylaluminum/water ALD process is rather well understood, systematic investigations of the reaction kinetics and the growth mode on different substrates are still missing. The last part of the review is devoted to discussing issues which may hamper surface chemistry investigations of ALD, such as problematic historical assumptions, nonstandard terminology, and the effect of experimental conditions on the surface chemistry of ALD. I hope that this review can help the newcomer get acquainted with the exciting and challenging field of surface chemistry of ALD and can serve as a useful guide for the specialist towards the fifth decade of ALD research.

Surface chemistry of atomic layer deposition: A case study for the trimethylaluminum/water process

C–H activation has surfaced as an increasingly powerful tool for molecular sciences, with notable applications to material sciences, crop protection, drug discovery, and pharmaceutical industries, among others. Despite major advances, the vast majority of these C–H functionalizations required precious 4d or 5d transition metal catalysts. Given the cost-effective and sustainable nature of earth-abundant first row transition metals, the development of less toxic, inexpensive 3d metal catalysts for C–H activation has gained considerable recent momentum as a significantly more environmentally-benign and economically-attractive alternative. Herein, we provide a comprehensive overview on first row transition metal catalysts for C–H activation until summer 2018.

3d Transition Metals for C-H Activation.

Dehydrogenation as a substrate-activating strategy in homogeneous transition-metal catalysis.

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is gaining attention as a thin film deposition method, uniquely suitable for depositing uniform and conformal films on complex three-dimensional topographies. The deposition of a film of a given material by ALD relies on the successive, separated, and self-terminating gas–solid reactions of typically two gaseous reactants. Hundreds of ALD chemistries have been found for depositing a variety of materials during the past decades, mostly for inorganic materials but lately also for organic and inorganic–organic hybrid compounds. One factor that often dictates the properties of ALD films in actual applications is the crystallinity of the grown film: Is the material amorphous or, if it is crystalline, which phase(s) is (are) present. In this thematic review, we first describe the basics of ALD, summarize the two-reactant ALD processes to grow inorganic materials developed to-date, updating the information of an earlier review on ALD [R. L. Puurunen, J. Appl. Phys. 97, 121301 (2005)], and give an overview of the status of processing ternary compounds by ALD. We then proceed to analyze the published experimental data for information on the crystallinity and phase of inorganic materials deposited by ALD from different reactants at different temperatures. The data are collected for films in their as-deposited state and tabulated for easy reference. Case studies are presented to illustrate the effect of different process parameters on crystallinity for representative materials: aluminium oxide, zirconium oxide, zinc oxide, titanium nitride, zinc zulfide, and ruthenium. Finally, we discuss the general trends in the development of film crystallinity as function of ALD process parameters. The authors hope that this review will help newcomers to ALD to familiarize themselves with the complex world of crystalline ALD films and, at the same time, serve for the expert as a handbook-type reference source on ALD processes and film crystallinity.

Crystallinity of inorganic films grown by atomic layer deposition: Overview and general trends

Lanthanide complexes in multifunctional asymmetric catalysis.

In a recent paper, the authors reported that Zr(O-t-Bu){sub 4} was an efficient and convenient basic reagent in organic synthesis. However, all reactions examined were performed with stoichiometric quantities of the reagent. The authors envisioned that rare earth metal alkoxides would be stronger bases than group 4 metal alkoxides due to the lower ionization potential (ca. 5.4-6.4 eV) and the lower electronegativity (1.1-1.3) of rare earth elements; thus, the catalytic use of rare earth metal alkoxides in organic synthesis was expected. Although a variety of rare earth metal alkoxides have been prepared for the last three decades, to the authors knowledge, there have been few reports concerning the basicity of rare earth metal alkoxides. Herein, the authors report several carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions catalyzed by rare earth metal alkoxides and their application to a catalytic asymmetric nitroaldol reaction.

Basic character of rare earth metal alkoxides. Utilization in catalytic C-C bond-forming reactions and catalytic asymmetric nitroaldol reactions

We report an Ir(I)-catalyzed kinetic resolution of secondary allylic carbonates allowing for their isolation in up to 98% ee. Importantly, the study documents the synthesis and use of a new class of chiral [2.2.2]-bicyclooctadiene ligands for iridium.

Readily available [2.2.2]-bicyclooctadienes as new chiral ligands for Ir(I): catalytic, kinetic resolution of allyl carbonates.

Organic synthesis involving iridium-catalyzed oxidation.

Efficient Diastereoselective and Enantioselective Nitroaldol Reactions from Prochiral Starting Materials: Utilization of La-Li-6,6'-Disubstituted BINOL Complexes as Asymmetric Catalysts

Takeyuki Suzuki

Papers

Basic character of rare earth metal alkoxides. Utilization in catalytic C-C bond-forming reactions and catalytic asymmetric nitroaldol reactions

Readily available [2.2.2]-bicyclooctadienes as new chiral ligands for Ir(I): catalytic, kinetic resolution of allyl carbonates.

Organic synthesis involving iridium-catalyzed oxidation.

Efficient Diastereoselective and Enantioselective Nitroaldol Reactions from Prochiral Starting Materials: Utilization of La-Li-6,6'-Disubstituted BINOL Complexes as Asymmetric Catalysts

Catalytic asymmetric nitroaldol reaction using optically active rare earth BINOL complexes : investigation of the catalyst structure