Driving reactions: Surmounting activation barriers in solid state chemistry using hydroxide melts and RF plasmas.

摘要

This thesis explores several techniques for surmounting activation barriers in solid state chemistry. The two major issues addressed are the use of a solution-based molten hydroxide system to increase the rate of reactant diffusion over that in the solid state, and the use of an RF plasma to break bonds in gaseous reactants for subsequent reaction with a solid.;Part I describes the use of molten alkali metal hydroxides as a low-temperature solvent system for both electrodeposition and precipitation of high valent copper oxides. Cyclic voltammetry was used to determine the effects of various reaction conditions on copper dissolved in the melts, including copper activity, temperature, and atmosphere composition. The results of this study indicate that copper oxide phases become less soluble at higher copper activities, temperatures, and pH;NaCuO;In Part II, the idea of circumventing activation energy barriers is applied to the problem of environmentally harmful perfluorocarbons (PFCs). Mass spectrometry was used to determine the PFC emissions from two semiconductor manufacturing processes: oxide etch and post-CVD chamber clean. Because of radical recombination to thermodynamically stable species, most of the PFCs used in these processes are emitted to the atmosphere.;A prototype abatement device which uses an RF plasma to provide the activation energy to break the strong carbon-fluorine bonds in PFCs was built and tested. Breaking these bonds causes the production of highly reactive radicals, which react with CaO to produce CaF