Nanostructured thin-films prepared by solid-phase pyrolysis of copper phthalocyanine: morphology, structural and Raman studies

Abstract

Nanostructured thin-film island-type coatings on sapphire and silicon substrates, consisting of copper (Cu) nanoparticles (NPs) dispersed in a carbon matrix, were obtained by solid-phase pyrolysis. As a precursor for the synthesis of copper NPs, we used a blue polycrystalline powder of copper phthalocyanine. Some of the samples after pyrolysis were annealed in a muffle furnace. The results of the XRD analysis confirms two narrow peaks, which refer to copper NPs and are corresponding to the reflection from the planes Cu(111) and Cu(200), and a wide peak at 2θ= 26° corresponds to carbon micro-spheres. It has been established that the sizes of the formed NPs vary between 10 and 400 nm, as well as the structure and surface properties of the films obtained, vary according to pyrolysis and annealing conditions