Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition of mesoporous SiTiOC nanostructured thin films

SiTiOC mesoporous thin films have been obtained by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) using titanium iso-propoxide (TIP) and tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) as starting precursors. The influences of both carrier gas and deposition temperature on the properties of the produced films were extensively studied. The low-angle XRD analysis confirms that, all produced films under different conditions (gas type and temperature) have the mesoporous structure. However, the deposition temperature was found to be much effective in controlling both morphology and composition of the final films than the type of carrier gas. The morphology of the produced films was totally converted from spherical shape-like nanoparticles at 700 °C to lengthy at higher temperature of 1000 °C. The SEM-EDX investigations proved that the composition of the produced films was composed of SiTiOC structure system. The PL analysis has demonstrated along with FT-IR data that all the deposited films at various deposition parameters were composed mainly of SiO2, SiOC, SiC, TiO2 and TiOC bond structures and most probably nanocomposite SiTiOC system thin films.

► Nanorod-like mesoporous SiTiOC nanocomposite films synthesized successfully from the vapor phase.
► Films are composed mainly of either agglomerated spherical nanoparticles or microparticles based on gas type.
► The formation of metal oxides and carbides is thermodynamically favored in the presence of hydrogen as a carrier gas.