Atomic layer deposition of noble metal thin films

Abstract

Noble metals are popular metals used in many applications, especially in catalysis. Such catalyst are needed in industries where high efficiency is required. Transition metals especially are great for this use. Among transition metals, another class of metals called noble metals showcase remarkable chemical attack resistance, even so at elevated temperatures. To further improve the properties of these noble metals, a high entropy alloy (HEA) can be made out of platinum (Pt), iridium (Ir), palladium (Pd), rhodium (Rh) and ruthenium (Ru) so that their shared properties can be further enhanced and can ultimately be more beneficial in the usage in catalysts. Before this HEA can be made, the first step in forming the five or more metal alloy have to be done, and this can be made using atomic layer deposition (ALD) to deposit the individual layers. Results were collected using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and the individual thin films were successfully deposited in the sequence PtIrPdRhRu.