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Evolution of Acetylacetone from Solution to Film in Indium Nitrate Combustion Sol-Gel
Marisol Valdez1, Cody R Allen2, Mohsin A Patel3
1Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States.
Abstract:
This study investigates the evolution of acetylacetone (AcAcH) fuel in indium nitrate hydrate (In(NO3)3) combustion sol-gel solution and spin-coated films. The combustion mechanism is studied by varying the AcAcH-to-nitrate molarity ratios ranging from 0:3 to 3:3, referencing pure In(NO3)3, pure AcAcH, and In(AcAc)3 in which AcAc- is fully chelated to indium. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra reveal that the functional groups in the In(NO3)3 solution are nitrate and hydroxyl. With the addition of AcAcH, coordinated keto and enol peaks associated with coordinated AcAc- are also observed along with coordinated nitrate peaks, indicating that AcAc- and nitrate are both complexed with indium. However, when spin-coating the sol-gel solution to form a film, FTIR spectra show peaks corresponding only to water, ammonia, and nitrate, with no keto/enol peaks associated with indium-coordinated or free AcAc-. Thus, AcAc- is absent from the film, even though it was present in the precursor solution. This result is reproducible across different experimental conditions. Through drying and evaporation studies, we determine that AcAc- leaves the In(NO3)3 sol-gel solutions with the 2-methoxyethanol solvent during spin coating. This study provides a critical understanding of the role of AcAcH as a fuel and the combustion sol-gel process in thin films.
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