Chemistry for 3-D Printing of Metal Nanostructures with Metal Complexes and Electron Beams
Lisa McElwee-White, Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, lmwhite@chem.ufl.edu
As electronic devices such as smartphones become smaller but have more capability, it is important to be able to create very tiny metal structures whose physical and chemical properties can be tailored for specific applications. This requires control over not only structure, size and shape but also chemical composition. One important nanofabrication technique uses focused beams of charged particles (electrons or ions) to create 3-D metal-containing nanostructures by decomposing organometallic or inorganic precursors onto substrates in a low pressure environment. We are studying the reactions of metal complexes with electrons and ions, then using our results to develop chemical processes for patterning metals into nanoscale objects.
