Sanja Burazer: Modification of the substrate surface – from nanowires to thin films of organic and metal-organic compounds

Metal-organic coordination polymers and frameworks have a wealth of multifunctional applications due to their immense structural diversity and flexibility. Multifunctional properties of these materials can be achieved by combining the intrinsic properties of the host, especially the magnetic ones, with additional functionalities derived from the selected guest molecules, in this case iron compounds with amines and the oxalate group, C₂O₄^2- which is a great tailoring tool due to its different coordination modes to metal centres, as well as its ability to mediate magnetic interactions between paramagnetic metal ions. To add additional functionalities, chiral amines were explored.

In order to optimize synthetic conditions, firstly synthesis in bulk was done, and later transferred to thin film formation by spin coating. Preparation of the same compound in the form of a single crystal, polycrystals, and thin film at the same time can give much information about its behaviour and characteristics. Shortcomings in the film formation were corrected by modification of the substrate surface by ozone treatment or addition of polymer (APTES). Samples were structurally and morphologically characterized by X-ray techniques including diffraction on single crystal, polycrystal and thin films, reflection and wide reciprocal space maps on thin films and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements. For determination of the sample conductivity, electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was done.

*corresponding author: e-mail: Sanja.Burazer@irb.hr