Method of selective deposition of small molecules on metal surfaces

A method of selective deposition, comprising:

• disposing a patterned substrate in a deposition chamber, wherein the patterned substrate comprises a metal surface, and a non-metal or metal oxide surface in the absence of a protective surface film, and wherein the deposition chamber comprises a valve-controlled inlet for a carrier gas and a furnace, wherein the carrier gas has valve-controlled access to a bubbler that contains an N-heterocyclic carbene precursor that is an azolium carboxylate zwitterion, or a salt that comprises a benzimidazolium cation and an anion selected from the group consisting of bicarbonate, carbonate, hydrogen carbonate, halide, pseudohalide. triflate, cyanide, azide, carboxylate, alkylcarboxylate, arylcarboxylate, where alkyl is an aliphatic moiety and aryl is an aromatic moiety;
• heating and maintaining the bubbler at a sufficiently high temperature to effect thermolysis thereby generating a vapour form of an N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) that comprises a benzimidazolylidene, and that collects in a headspace of the bubbler;
• intermittently pulsing carrier gas that includes the vapour form of NHC into the heated deposition chamber and purging the deposition chamber with carrier gas;
• and
• wherein the NHC selectively chemisorbs onto the metal surface, and substantially no NHC chemisorbs onto the non-metal or metal oxide surface.