A novel study of the growth and resistivity of nanocrystalline Pt films obtained from Pt(acac)2 in the presence of oxygen or water vapor

Reaction mechanisms between platinum acetylacetonate Pt(acac)2 and oxygen or water vapor for the deposition of nanostructured, conductive platinum thin films at 240-300 or 280-440 °C respectively, were studied with the aim of understanding the effects of experimental parameters on the microstructure and resistivity of the obtained films. The utilisation of water vapour during the decomposition process of Pt(acac)2 permitted the films to grow more slowly and more homogeneously along the reactor. Although the decomposition of Pt(acac)2 assumed different characteristics in the presence of O2 or H2O, a universal trend crystallite size - resistivity was found for almost all the films obtained; this represents an important starting point for the correlation of experimental conditions with applicative performances.