Sonochemical Synthesis, Thermal Studies and X-ray Structure of Precursor [Zr(acac)3(H2O)2]Cl for Deposition of Thin Film of ZrO2 by Ultrasonic Aerosol Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition

A new precursor [Zr(acac)3(H2O)2]Cl was synthesized by Sonochemical technique and used to deposit thin ZrO2 film on quartz and ceramic substrate via ultrasonic aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition (UAACVD) at 300 °C in oxygen environment followed by annealing of the sample for 2-3 minutes at 500 °C in nitrogen ambient. The molecular structure of the precursor determined by single crystal X-ray analysis revealed that the molecules are linked through intermolecular hydrogen bonds forming pseudo six and eight membered rings. DSC and TGA/FTIR techniques were used to determine thermal behavior and decomposition temperature of the precursor and nature of evolved gas products. The optical measurement of annealed ZrO2 film with tetragonal phase shows optical energy band gap of 5.01 eV. The particle size, morphology, surface structure and composition of deposited films were inves-tigated by XRD, SEM and EDX