Articulo de publicacion ISIWe present a method for the preparation and deposition of metallic microstructures and nanostructures deposited on
silicon and silica surfaces by pyrolysis in air at 800 C of the corresponding metallophosphazene (cyclic or polymer).
Atomic force microscopy studies reveal that the morphology is dependent on the polymeric or oligomeric nature of the
phosphazene precursor, on the preparation method used, and on the silicon substrate surface (crystalline or amorphous)
and its prior inductively couple plasma etching treatment. Microscale and nanoscale structures and high-surface-area
thin films of gold, palladium, silver, and tin were successfully deposited from their respective newly synthesized
precursors. The characteristic morphology of the deposited nanostructures resulted in varied roughness and increased
surface area and was observed to be dependent on the precursor and the metal center. In contrast to island formation
from noble metal precursors, we also report a coral of SnP2O7 growth on Si and SiO2 surfaces from the respective Sn
polymer precursor, leaving a self-affine fractal structure with a well-defined roughness exponent that appears to be
independent (within experimental error) of the average size of the islands. The nature of the precursor will be shown to
influence the degree of surface features, and the mechanism of their formation is presented. The method reported here
constitutes a new route to the deposition of single-crystal metallic, oxidic, and phosphate nanostructures and thin films
on technologically relevant substrates.This work was supported by FONDECYT
project 1085011. Part of this work was conducted under the
framework of the INSPIRE programme, funded by the Irish
Government’s Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions,
Cycle 4, National Development Plan 2007-2013. The
Spanish teamacknowledges the SpanishMinisterio de Educacion
y Ciencia (CTQ2007-67273-C02-01) and theGobierno de Arag on
for financial support.We also thank Prof. D. Noel Buckley for
access to the Veeco Enviroscope. L.A.P. acknowledges financial
support from the University of Limerick
