Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of CF₃AuCNR Precursors for Focused Electron Beam-Induced Deposition of Gold

The Au­(I) complexes CF₃AuCNMe (<b>1a</b>) and CF₃AuCN^<i>t</i>Bu (<b>1b</b>) were investigated as Au­(I) precursors for focused electron beam-induced deposition (FEBID) of metallic gold. Both <b>1a</b> and <b>1b</b> are sufficiently volatile for sublimation at 125 ± 1 mTorr in the temperature range of roughly 40–50 °C. Electron impact mass spectra of <b>1a–b</b> show gold-containing ions resulting from fragmenting the CF₃ group and the CNR ligand, whereas in negative chemical ionization of <b>1a–b</b>, the major fragment results from dealkylation of the CNR ligand. Steady-state depositions from <b>1a</b> in an Auger spectrometer produce deposits with a similar gold content to the commercial precursor Me₂Au­(acac) (<b>3</b>) deposited under the same conditions, while the gold content from <b>1b</b> is less. These results enable us to suggest the likely fate of the CF₃ and CNR ligands during FEBID.