In recent years, hydrogen gained interest as energy storage for sustainable harvested energy. A common method for hydrogen production is the electrochemical water splitting. Promising electrode materials for this method are metal sulfides and selenides, whereby thin film coatings of these materials can be used as cost effective alternatives. Since the availability of precursors for metal chalcogenides is limited, the demand for novel molecular structures is high.
In this work, nanoscale thin films of metal sulfides were produced by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), for which the design of precursors was tailored in a targeted manner. In this work, different metal chalcogenides were obtained by the variation of ligand classes and replacement of the heteroatom. The synthesis of precursors containing sulfur and selenium was successful. Complexes with the transition metals of cobalt and nickel were synthesized and provide ideal precursors for CVD.
The conversion could be demonstrated by various analytical measurement methods. Thin films of Ni3S2 were successfully generated. With the application in the photoelectrochemical cell (PEC), its suitability as a novel material with good electrical properties was demonstrated. Thus, thin films of metal chalcogenides represent promising materials as catalyst in the water splitting reaction.