Pairing metal phosphates with atomic layer deposition for specialized applications
Pairing metal phosphates with atomic layer deposition for specialized applications lead image
Metal phosphate coatings are thermally and structurally stable, allowing for their use in electrodes, luminescent materials, and composites. Atomic layer deposition, or ALD, has unique nanotailoring capabilities and enables the coating of complex 3D substrates.
Individually, both fields have shown versatility and efficiency in a variety of applications. Because interest in the pairing of these technologies continues to grow, Henderick et al. chose to comprehensively review the combination of metal phosphate coatings with ALD.
“We believe that such an in-depth analysis, where both the currently available and unavailable information is highlighted, is crucial to further allow researchers to optimize their ALD processes and metal phosphate layers towards their application of choice,” said Henderick.
The authors focused on both the synthesis of phosphate coatings through ALD and the potential applications of the phosphates. They discuss various ALD strategies for the deposition of phosphate materials, along with mechanisms and specific process chemistries. The authors provide a summary of metal phosphates deposited through ALD in energy storage, electrocatalysis, and biomedical or luminescence applications.
Because the reactions taking place at the substrate surface are not well understood, further research is needed on the different process parameters of ALD which can influence the structure of the phosphate coating backbone. The authors also believe that new types of metal phosphates and mixed metal phosphates should be developed.
“We hope that this review can stimulate other researchers in various research fields to start or improve their work on the ALD of metal phosphates,” said Henderick.
Source: “Atomic layer deposition of metal phosphates,” by Lowie Henderick, Arpan Dhara, Andreas Werbrouck, Jolien Dendooven, and Christophe Detaverinier, Applied Physics Reviews (2022). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0069647 .
