Abstract

Pyrolysis of the organometallic polymer: {{[N=P(R 1)] 0.8[N=P(OC 6H 4CH 2CN[Ru]) 2] 0.15[N=P((OC 6H 5)(OC 6H 4CH 2CN[Ru]] 0.05}{Cl} 0.31} n , [Ru]=CpRu(PPh 3) 2, R 1 = O 2C 12H 8 (1) as well of the cyclic specie {N 3P 3 (OC 6H 5) 5(OC 6H 4CH 2CN[Ru])}{PF 6} (2) under a flow of air at 800°C affords nanostructured RuO 2. Nanoparticles near to 10 nm were observed. The differences in the use of cyclic or polymeric phosphazenes, as solid state template, influence strongly the morphology and slightly the composition of the pyrolytic product. Temperature variable (SQUID) measurements in the range of 5-300 K of the material obtained from the polymer, indicate an antiferromagnetic interaction between the Ru atoms, although lower than that found for the crystalline ruthenium oxide, probably due to some amorphous product present in the pyrolytic material. The possible formation mechanism is discussed and the differences in using the cyclic or the polymeric compound as precursor is analyzed in terms of the relative content of Ru to P, N. A general formation method of nanostructured metal oxides is proposed. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.