Laser assisted molecular beam deposition of thin films of polymeric copperphthalocyanine and their characterization

Thin films of polymeric copperphthalocyanine were fabricated via laser assisted molecular beam deposition by reacting the laser ablated plasma flume of a copper target with 1,2,3,5-tetracyanobenzene entrained within a molecular beam expansion. 1,2,4,5-Tetracyanobenzene entrained within a helium carrier gas was supersonically expanded to intercept a second expansion containing gas-phase aggregates of metallic copper. These two molecular beams met at a point between the target and the substrate producing gas phase polymeric copperphthalocyanine which could be then directly deposited as a thin film coating on room temperature substrates. Such films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and invisible, infrared and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopic techniques. Optical spectra of films dissolved in H₂SO₄ solutions reveal that small amounts of monomeric copperphthalocyanine is also present in the grown films. All the copper in these films is found to be in Cu⁺² ionization state.