Synthetic Metals 160 (2010) 556–560 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Synthetic Metals journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/synmet Crystal structure, band structure and electrical properties of -(BEDT-TTF) 2 SbF 6 grown on a Si(0 0 1) electrode Aneta Aniela Kowalska a,b,c,∗ , Jean-Philippe Savy b,c,1 , Dominique de Caro b,c , Isabelle Malfant b,c , Christophe Faulmann b,c , Lydie Valade b,c , Marie-Liesse Doublet d , Jacek Ulanski a a Department of Molecular Physics, Technical University of Lodz, ul. Zeromskiego 116, 90-924 Lodz, Poland b CNRS, LCC (Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination), 205, route de Narbonne, F-31077 Toulouse, France c Université de Toulouse, UPS, INPT, LCC, F-31077 Toulouse, France d Laboratoire de Structure et Dynamique des Systèmes Moléculaires et Solides USTL II, Place E. Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier cedex 5, France article info Article history: Received 19 June 2009 Received in revised form 3 December 2009 Accepted 5 December 2009 Available online 31 December 2009 Keywords: Electrodeposition BEDT-TTF -Phase Electronic band structures abstract The new -(BEDT-TTF) 2 SbF 6 phase was grown by electrodeposition on a Si(0 0 1) electrode. This new phase was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electronic conductivity measurements, accom- panied by calculations of electronic band structures and Fermi surfaces. Below T = 120 K, a decrease in the electronic conductivity suggests a phase transition, attributed to anion ordering. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Much attention has been devoted to charge transfer complexes (CT) of bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene (BEDT-TTF) due to their unusual properties, such as thermal or pressure induced metal–insulator, metal–semiconductor, metal–superconductor phase transitions and/or structural conversion [1,2]. Such various behaviours originate from the different arrangements of BEDT-TTF molecules in the crystal structure, leading to different interac- tion schemes (overlapping modes) [3]. The BEDT-TTF molecule is well-known to form a rich variety of phases with various anions. The crystal structures reported so far for these phases are named as , ,   ,   , , , and  [4,5]. The phases showing the highest superconducting transition temperatures and the more interesting electronic behaviors show -type structures. The transport properties in -phases are strongly dependent on small changes in pressure, temperature, disorder or chemical environment [1,2]. For instance, -(BEDT-TTF) 2 Cu[N(CN) 2 ]Br [6] ∗ Corresponding author at: Department of Molecular Physics, Technical University of Lodz, ul. Zeromskiego 116, 90-924 Lodz, Poland. E-mail address: anetakowalska29@gmail.com (A.A. Kowalska). 1 Address: Leibniz Institute for Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR), Wischhofstr. 1–3, Gebäude12, 24148 Kiel, Germany. and -(BEDT-TTF) 2 Cu[N(CN) 2 ]Cl 0.5 Br 0.5 [7] are superconductors at ambient pressure, while -(BEDT-TTF) 2 Cu[N(CN) 2 ]Cl [8] shows a semiconductor to superconductor phase transition under a pres- sure of 0.3 kbar. Such various unexpected electrical behaviours encouraged many researchers to grow other phases. In addition, to envision practical applications into electronic devices, efforts have been devoted to their preparation as thin films. One of the most popular method to prepare CT complexes is electrocrystallization, whereby very different phases can be obtained by minor variations of the preparation conditions [1,9]. Conducting thin films can be electrodeposited when flat substrates are substituted for standard platinum wires electrodes. Wang and co-workers [10,11] have recently grown a film of -(BEDT-TTF) 2 PF 6 on a gold substrate. Our group has developed the use of Si wafers to prepare thin films of numerous molecular conductors by electrodeposition [12–16]. We have grown thin films of new BEDT-TTF CT complexes containing PF 6 − , AsF 6 − and SbF 6 − as the anions. A -phase, - (BEDT-TTF) 2 SbF 6 , was isolated only in the case of SbF 6 − . The infrared and Raman spectroscopy studies of films of this phase were reported in a previous paper [17]. In this paper, we report on the complete XRD and electronic conductivity characteriza- tion of the phase. The experimental results are accompanied with semi-empirical calculations of electronic band structures and Fermi surfaces. 0379-6779/$ – see front matter © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.synthmet.2009.12.002