Alkenyl/Thiol Co-Functionalized Titanium-Oxo Nanoclusters Enable Synergistic Lithography for Enhanced Resolution and...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Chemistry

Background:

• Titanium oxides lack lithographic reactivity, limiting their use in direct nanopatterning.
• Monometallic titanium-oxo clusters (TOCs) are typically inert to lithography.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance the lithography applications and performance of titanium-oxo clusters.
• To develop a strategy for direct nanopatterning of titanium oxide materials.

Main Methods:

• Incorporation of cross-linkable alkenyl and thiol groups into titanium-oxo clusters.
• Functionalization of TOCs with magnolol ligands to facilitate electron beam-induced polymerization.
• Dual cross-linkable group functionalization enabling thiol-ene click reactions.

Main Results:

• Achieved nanopatterning of titanium oxide materials.
• Electron beam-induced alkenyl polymerization transformed soluble clusters into insoluble networks.
• Dual functionalization with alkenyl and thiol groups reduced required exposure energy by over 70%.
• Fabricated high-resolution patterns with a minimum feature size of 12.9 nm.

Conclusions:

• Step-by-step cross-linkable group functionalization enhances TOC lithography.
• Alkenyl/thiol comodified TOCs offer significantly improved lithography sensitivity.
• This work presents a viable route for high-resolution metal oxide cluster photoresists.