Peter Sennikov

High-resolution Fourier-transform IR spectroscopic determination of impurities in silicon tetrafluoride and silane prepared from it

The impurity compositions of silicon tetrafluoride and silane prepared from it have been determined by high-resolution Fourier-transform IR spectroscopy. In the spectra of SiF4 samples differing in purity, we have identified rovibrational bands arising from Si2F6O, SiF3OH, HF, SiF3H, SiF2H2, SiH3F, CH4, CO2, and CO impurities. Their detection limits lie in the range 9 × 10−5 (CO2) to 3 × 10−3 mol % (Si2F6O). In the spectra of SiH4 samples of different purity, we have detected CH4, CO2, SiF3H, SiF2H2, and SiF4 impurities. Their detection limits lie in the range 8 × 10−5 (CO2) to 1 × 10−3 mol % (SiF4).

Structure, Energy, and Vibrational Frequencies of Oxygen Allotropes On (n ≤ 6) in the Covalently Bound and van der Waals Forms: Ab Initio Study at the CCSD(T) Level.

Recent experiments on the UV and electron beam irradiation of solid O2 reveals a series of IR features near the valence antisymmetric vibration band of O3 which are frequently interpreted as the formation of unusual On allotropes in the forms of weak complexes or covalently bound molecules. In order to elucidate the question of the nature of the irradiation products, the structure, relative energies, and vibrational frequencies of various forms of On (n = 1-6) in the singlet, triplet, and, in some cases, quintet states were studied using the CCSD(T) method up to the CCSD(T,full)/cc-pCVTZ and CCSD(T,FC)/aug-cc-pVTZ levels. The results of calculations demonstrate the existence of stable highly symmetric structures O4 (D3h), O4 (D2d), and O6 (D3d) as well as the intermolecular complexes O2·O2, O2·O3, and O3·O3 in different conformations. The calculations show that the local minimum corresponding to the O3···O complex is quite shallow and cannot explain the ν3 band features close to 1040 cm(-1), as was proposed previously. For the ozone dimer, a new conformer was found which is more stable than the structure known to date. The effect of the ozone dimer on the registered IR spectra is discussed.

Integral Intensities of Absorption Bands of Silicon Tetrafluoride in the Gas Phase and Cryogenic Solutions: Experiment and Calculation

The spectral characteristics of the SiF4 molecule in the range 3100–700 cm−1, including the absorption range of the band ν3, are studied in the gas phase at P = 0.4–7 bar and in solutions in liquefied Ar and Kr. In the cryogenic solutions, the relative intensities of the vibrational bands, including the bands of the isotopically substituted molecules, are determined. The absorption coefficients of the combination bands 2ν3, ν3 + ν1, ν3 + ν4, and 3ν4 are measured in the solution in Kr. In the gas phase of the one-component system at an elevated pressure of SiF4, the integrated absorption coefficient of the absorption band ν3 of the 28SiF4 molecule was measured to be A(ν3) = 700 ± 30 km/mol. Within the limits of experimental error, this absorption coefficient is consistent with estimates obtained from independent measurements and virtually coincides with the coefficient A(ν3) = 691 km/mol calculated in this study by the quantum-chemical method MP2(full) with the basis set cc-pVQZ.

Quantum-chemical study of structural, spectral, and electrooptical parameters of fluorosilanes SiH4− x Fx(x=0–4)

The possibility of calculating the molecular structure, vibrational frequencies, and electrooptical parameters of the silane molecule SiH4 and the silicon tetrafluoride molecule SiF4 is analyzed by using the ab initio quantum-chemical method (the MP2 perturbation theory) and the density functional theory (the B3LYP functional) with a wide variation of basis sets up to the cc-pV5Z set. The results obtained are used as reference values for studing mixed fluorosilanes SiH4−xFx (x=1–3) and for refining their geometry, the vibrational frequencies, and the absolute intensities of absorption bands. Based on the results of high-level quantum-chemical calculation corrected against the experimental data for SiH4 and SiF4, the structural parameters of mixed flouro-silanes are estimated and their vibrational frequencies are calculated and assigned for the first time. The quantum-chemical estimates of the absolute intensities of IR spectra are for the first time presented for all mixed fluorosilanes.

Application of High-Resolution IR and Microwave Spectroscopies for Investigation of the Impurity Composition of Silicon Tetrafluoride

The possibility of combined application of gas chromatography, high-resolution IR spectroscopy, and transient microwave gas spectroscopy (TMGS) for investigation of the impurity composition of silicon tetrafluoride is studied. Using high-resolution IR Fourier spectroscopy, the lines of a number of impurities are observed in the region from 4500 to 550 cm−1. The absorption lines of some of the main well-known impurities in silicon tetrafluoride in the 2-mm wavelength range are analyzed. The advantages of the TMGS method for investigating the multicomponent SiF4-impurities system are demonstrated. Using the TMGS method, the freons CHF3, CH2F2, and CH3F are experimentally detected in silicon tetrafluoride.

Vibrational spectra of monoisotopic SiH4 and GeH4 in low-temperature matrices

IR absorption spectra of monoisotopic 28SiH4 and 76GeH4 are studied in Ar and N2 matrices at 10 K. It is shown that the absorption spectra of silane and germane are similar in the regions of the stretching ν3 and bending ν4 vibrations. Four groups of bands can be separated out in the spectra of each molecule: (1) narrow bands characteristic of the matrix isolation studies, (2) broad bands, (3) diffuse absorption with a large value of the spectral moment M2* the intensity of which increases upon annealing, and (4) bands of dimers the intensity of which increases quadratically with concentration. The spectra of 28SiH4 and 76GeH4 in nitrogen matrices contain a triplet in the stretching region and a doublet in the bending region, which is explained by the change in the molecular symmetry from Td to C3V on passage from the gas phase to solid nitrogen.

The role of NH3 and hydrocarbon mixtures in GaN pseudo-halide CVD: a quantum chemical study

The prospects of a control for a novel gallium nitride pseudo-halide vapor phase epitaxy (PHVPE) with HCN were thoroughly analyzed for hydrocarbons–NH3–Ga gas phase on the basis of quantum chemical investigation with DFT (B3LYP, B3LYP with D3 empirical correction on dispersion interaction) and ab-initio (CASSCF, coupled clusters, and multireference configuration interaction including MRCI+Q) methods. The computational screening of reactions for different hydrocarbons (CH4, C2H6, C3H8, C2H4, and C2H2) as readily available carbon precursors for HCN formation, potential chemical transport agents, and for controlled carbon doping of deposited GaN was carried out with the B3LYP method in conjunction with basis sets up to aug-cc-pVTZ. The gas phase intermediates for the reactions in the Ga-hydrocarbon systems were predicted at different theory levels. The located π-complexes Ga…C2H2 and Ga…C2H4 were studied to determine a probable catalytic activity in reactions with NH3. A limited influence of the carbon-containing atmosphere was exhibited for the carbon doping of GaN crystal in the conventional GaN chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process with hydrocarbons injected in the gas phase. Our results provide a basis for experimental studies of GaN crystal growth with C2H4 and C2H2 as auxiliary carbon reagents for the Ga-NH3 and Ga-C-NH3 CVD systems and prerequisites for reactor design to enhance and control the PHVPE process through the HCN synthesis.

Identification of the products of partial hydrolysis of silicon tetrafluoride by matrix isolation IR spectroscopy

Matrix isolation Fourier transform IR spectroscopy has been used for studying the products and mechanism of the silicon tetrafluoride reaction with water at various component ratios and reaction durations. Assignment of new bands in the spectrum confirms the earlier assumptions of first the formation of a molecular complex with water and later of trifluorosilanol, which finally condenses to give hexafluorodisiloxane.

Thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of elementary steps in gas-phase hydrolysis of SiF4. Quantum-chemical and FTIR spectroscopic studies

The energies and thermodynamic parameters of elementary steps in the proposed mechanism of silicon tetrafluoride hydrolysis in the gas phase were calculated by the ab initio quantum-chemical method (MP4//MP2/6-311G(2d,2p)) and the density functional theory (B3LYP/6-311G(2d,2p)). The proposed mechanism of gas-phase hydrolysis involves the formation of mono- and dihydroxy derivatives, hexafluorodisiloxane (SiF3OSiF3), and linear and cyclic siloxane polymers with the chain length from three to six Si—O and difluorosilanone units. According to the calculations, all reactions considered are endothermic and are characterized by positive Gibbs free energies. The initial hydrolysis steps can be presented with a high accuracy by two parallel processes: formation of trifluorohydroxysilane (SiF3OH) and SiF3OSiF3. These are the most thermodynamically favorable among all reaction channels. The transition states of these elementary steps were found and their kinetic parameters were estimated (ΔG≠ = 132 and 147 kJ mol–1, respectively). The calculation results were verified using FTIR spectroscopy of a mixture of gas-phase SiF4 and water vapor. The comparison of the theoretical (absolute) intensities of bands in the IR spectra and integral absorption coefficients in the experimental IR spectrum made it possible to calculate the equilibrium concentrations of the reactants and equilibrium constants of elementary steps of formation of SiF3OH and SiF3OSiF3, which agree with the theoretical values. The role of different derivatives in deep hydrolysis and possibilities of experimental detection of particular intermediates in the gas phase were discussed.

Binary molecular complexes of silicon tetrafluoride with water, methanol, and dimethyl ether. Quantum-chemical study

The molecular structures, the energies of complex formation, and the vibrational spectra of the binary molecular complexes of SiF4 with water, methanol, and dimethyl ether were calculated by the ab initio MP2 method with the basis sets up to 6-311++G(2d,2p). In the complexes, which have been detected previously by IR spectroscopy in low-temperature (12—15 K) inert matrices, the five-coordinate Si atom is in a distorted trigonal-bipyramidal environment, which is formed through the donor-acceptor interaction of the O atom with the Si atom and is additionally stabilized by the H...F hydrogen bonds.