Letter abstract
Nature Materials 2, 744 - 747 (2003)
Published online: 26 October 2003 | doi:10.1038/nmat997
Subject Categories: Polymers | Surface and thin films | Computation, modelling and theory
Self-assembly of functional nanostructures from ABC triblock copolymers
Sabine Ludwigs1, Alexander Böker1, Andrej Voronov1, Nicolaus Rehse1, Robert Magerle1 & Georg Krausch1
The spontaneous formation of nanostructured materials by molecular self-assembly of block copolymers is an active area of research, driven both by its inherent beauty and by a wealth of potential technological applications1, 2, 3, 4. Thin films of block copolymers have attracted increasing interest, particularly in view of possible applications in nanotechnology5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Although much of the work has concentrated on block copolymers consisting of two components, the insertion of a third block greatly enlarges the structural diversity and allows incorporation of additional chemical functionality10, 11. Here we describe a highly ordered hexagonally perforated lamella structure based on an ABC triblock copolymer thin film. By suitable choice of the three blocks a versatile structure is formed. The perforated lamella can serve as a lithographic mask, it can be chemically converted into an amphiphilic structure without losing its order, and after selective removal of one of its constituents it could be used as a responsive membrane. Intriguingly, the particular choice of the blocks ensures that the structure is formed irrespective of the chemical nature of the solid substrate. The experimental results are supported by mesoscale computer simulations.
- Lehrstuhl für Physikalische Chemie II and Bayreuther Zentrum für Kolloide und Grenzflächen (BZKG), Universität Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
Correspondence to: Georg Krausch1 e-mail: georg.krausch@uni-bayreuth.de
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