Transition-Metal Silicides Research

Professor Lemke's research interests involve the inorganic and organometallic chemistry of transition-metal silicon complexes and porphyrin silicon compounds. Transition-metal silicon complexes, in addition to investigations into their structure and reactivity, will be studied as single-source precursors to transtion-metal silicides using chemical vapor deposition techiques. Transition-metal silicides are of interest due to their considerable temperature stability, oxidation resistance, and low electrical resistivity. Potential applications of these silicides include contacts and interconnects in integrated circuits, thermoelectric energy conversion, and high-temperature coatings. The porphyrin group has the ability to stabilize unusual structures with unique reactivity. The coupling together of several porphyrin silicon moieties would produce short oligomers with low dimensionality. Since the porphyrin group is electrochemically and photochemically acitve, the short oligomers (as well as the monomeric porphyrin silicon moieties) may exhibit unusual electrical and optical (nonlinear) properties. Associated Faculty: Lemke