Research Equipment

Chair II of Inorganic Chemistry

The chair and the junior research groups associated with it (Jun-Prof. Dr. A. Devi und Dr. R. Schmid) are equipped with modern tools for metal-organic synthesis- and structural chemistry, for Chemical Vapor Deposition, material synthesis and characterization as well as a Linux-computer cluster for quantum chemical calculations.

Inert gas-workstations (about 20) for synthetic organometallic chemistry ("Schlenk technique"), four glove-boxes (MBraun) and a fully automatic solvent purification system provide the backbone for the preparative research.

Schlenk lines for chemical synthesis under inert gas

NC 2 (Lab rooms)

Highly pyrophoric compounds such as AlMe3 or ZnMe2 can be handled in a safe and easy way by using Schlenk technique. With modern equipment also the work with temperature- or light sensitive substances is feasible.

Glove-box for working under inert gas

NC2/29, NC2/28 and NC2/30
For the work with air- and water sensitive compounds four glove-boxes (MBraun) are accessible. These are equipped with oxygen and moisture sensors and partially also with microscopes and a refrigerator.Contact person: Markus Halbherr

Solvent drying system

NC2/25
The solvent purification system (MBraun) is purifying and drying solvents (currently pentane, hexane, THF, diethylether, and toluene) on a chromatographic basis over columns filled with aluminum oxide, molecular sieves or copper(I)oxide, depending on the solvent. The residual moisture is frequently checked by means of Karl-Fischer titration and is usually in a range below 5 ppm H2O.Contact person: Timo Bollermann

Karl-Fischer titration system

NC2/66
Karl-Fischer titration is a fast and easy way to determine residual moisture of solvents or samples. The method uses a redox reaction between H2O/I2 and SO2, which is electrochemically detected.Contact person: Uschi Hermann

For single crystal analyses, powder samples as well as high resolution measurements of thin films, three X-ray difractometers (Oxford Excalibur II, BRUKER-AXS Advance and BRUKER-AXS Discover) are available.(contact persons: Dr. C. Gemel, Dr. H. Parala, M. Winter)

Single-crystal difractometer (Oxford Excalibur II)

NC2/92
Single crystals of new compounds can be measured on a single crystal difractometer by Oxford Diffraction. The low temperature system (Oxford Instruments) allows routine measurements at 100K.Contact person: Manuela Winter, Dr. Christian Gemel

Powder difractometer (Bruker AXS Advance)

NC2/93
For an analysis of powder samples and thin films, an X-ray diffractometer (Bruker AXS) is available.Contact person: Dr. Harish Parala

High-resolution powder diffractometer (Bruker AXS Discover)

NC2/93
Precise analyses of high quality thin film samples are measured on a modern high resolution powder diffractometer (Bruker AXS).Contact person: Dr. Harish Parala

Three big systems are used for CVD experiments. One of them, AIX 200 RF (AIXTRON) is designed for the deposition of nitride-materials, e.g., Group 13 nitrides and conducting metal nitrides as HfN or TaN. The other system AIX 200 FE with a direct liquid-injection of precursor solutions into the reactor chamber serves for deposition of metal oxides and noble metals. Currently, this system is used by AG Devi. Finally, the F120 ALD-System (ASM) serves for catalyst preparation within the scope of the SFB-558.

AIX 200 RF (AIXTRON)

NC 04/348-349
The research reactor AIX 200 RF (Aixtron) is used for manufacturing of high quality metal nitride films under industrial conditions. The attached glove-box allows handling of the air sensitive thin films under an inert gas atmosphere.Contact person: JP Dr. Anjana Devi

AIX 200 FE (AIXTRON)

NC 04/348-349
The research reactor AIX 200 FE (Aixtron) with a liquid injection system is employed for the fabrication of high quality metal oxide films under industrial conditions. The precursors developed in our group are tested here for their suitablitity in manufacturing of electronic devices.Contact person: Dipl.-Ing. Stephan Spöllmann, JP Dr. Anjana Devi

Home-built CVD reactor

NC 2/92
Three home-built CVD systems are available for a routine examination of a newly developed CVD precursor. Their simple and uncomplicated handling allows a quick screening of the suitability of such compounds for thin film preparation.Contact person: Dr. Raghunandan Krishna Bhakta

ALD F120 (ASM)

NC 2/28
Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is used to fabricate ultra-thin and conformal thin film structures for many semiconductor and thin film device applications such as high dielectric constant (high-k) gate oxides, storage capacitor dielectrics and copper diffusion barriers in advanced electronic devices. A unique attribute of ALD is that it uses sequential self-limiting surface reactions to achieve control of film growth in the monolayer or sub-monolayer thickness regime.Contact person: Ke Xu

TG/DTA 620 (Seiko Instruments)

NC 2/68
The Seiko Thermogravimetric/ Differential Thermal Analysis (TD/DTA) system is employed to determine the thermal behaviour and composition of newly developed precursors. The simultaneous TG/DTA system provides a simple and accurate way of determining the melting or decomposition points as well as processes such as vaporization, sublimation, and desorption.Contact person: Andrian Milanov

UV/Vis/NIR Spectometer (Perkin Elmer)

NC 2/58
We mainly use the UV-Vis spectroscopy for investigating nanoparticles. In the case of semiconductor nanoparticles the absorption peak gives information about the bandgap whereas the spectra of metallic nanoparticles display the surface plasmon resonance. UV-Vis can thus provide fast and easy information about particle size and shape as well as the composition and oxidation state of the metals involved.Contact person: Marie Katrin Schröter

Photo reactor

NC 2/66
This tailor-made falling film photo reactor is used in our group to deposit Cu at commercially available ZnO powders on the multigram scale and to produce large amounts of other metal composites (Ag, Au) as well as composite nanoparticles (Cu@TiO2 Cu@ZnO, Ag@TiO2, Au@TiO2) via photo-chemical processes. This photo reactor is capable of working with volumes up to 2 liters, being a semi-industrial batch producer.Contact person: Mahmoud Sliem