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

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