Spectroscopy of Weakly Bound Group 13-15 Complexes

The proposed studies will focus on the weakly bound complexes of the group 13 metal atoms (AI, Ga, In) with amines, phosphines, and arsines. Such species play an important role in III-V semiconductor growth processes; thus, it is important to develop sensitive spectroscopic methods for detecting, identifying, and characterizing them. These complexes will be prepared in the gas phase with laser vaporization and studied with pulsed field ionization-zero electron kinetic energy (ZEKE) spectroscopy. The ZEKE technique measures adiabatic ionization energies and vibrational frequencies, from which bonding and structural information is derived in combination with ab initio calculations. The information obtained from this work will provide critically needed data for future studies of these reactive species in industrial processes, and improve the general understanding of metal-ligand interactions in inorganic and organometallic complexes and at metal surfaces.