This work is concerned with the design, synthesis, isolation and subsequent aerosolassisted
chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) of precursors towards the zinc
chalcogenide materials: zinc oxide (ZnO) and zinc oxysulfide (Zn(O,S)). Throughout this
thesis, emphasis is placed on elucidating the relationship between the molecular
structure of the precursor and the functional properties of the resultant material.
Chapter 3 explores this relationship for a series of six precursors bearing !-ketoimine
and !-aminoenoate ligands towards ZnO thin films via AACVD. The deposition of ZnO
thin films has been an area of interest in the materials chemistry community due to its
importance as a semiconductor in optoelectronic devices. Thin film quality is of
paramount importance in these applications and as such, precursor design remains a
research priority.
Chapter 4 describes the synthesis and characterisation of a family of heteroleptic zinc
thioureide complexes with a view to application as single source precursors for the
AACVD of Zn(O,S), as well as being interesting synthetic targets in their own right. The
scarcity of reports of the AACVD of Zn(O,S) via a single source precursor in the literature
to date may not just be due to the fact that this is an emerging material, but also due to
the lack of a suitable precursor.
Chapter 5 explores the combinatorial analysis of Zn(O,S) films in order to better
understand the effects of intermediate compositions on the optoelectronic properties of
the material. The analysis of films from both commercially available precursors and a
novel precursor is undertaken and in the latter case, emphasis is placed on the molecular
properties of the precursor and the effect this has on the deposited Zn(O,S) films
