0000000000657341
AUTHOR
Stephen T. Kelly
Periodic nanoscale patterning of polyelectrolytes over square centimeter areas using block copolymer templates
© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2016. Nano-patterned materials are beneficial for applications such as solar cells, opto-electronics, and sensing owing to their periodic structure and high interfacial area. Here, we present a non-lithographic approach for assembling polyelectrolytes into periodic nanoscale patterns over cm2-scale areas. Chemically modified block copolymer thin films featuring alternating charged and neutral domains are used as patterned substrates for electrostatic self-assembly. In-depth characterization of the deposition process using spectroscopy and microscopy techniques, including the state-of-the-art scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM), reveals both the sel…
From dots to doughnuts: Two-dimensionally confined deposition of polyelectrolytes on block copolymer templates
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd The combination of block copolymer templating with electrostatic self-assembly provides a simple and robust method for creating nano-patterned polyelectrolyte multilayers over large areas. The deposition of the first polyelectrolyte layer provides important insights on the initial stages of multilayer buildup. Here, we focus on two-dimensionally confined “dots” patterns afforded by block copolymer films featuring hexagonally-packed cylinders that are oriented normal to the substrate. Rendering the cylinder caps positively charged enables the selective deposition of negatively charged polyelectrolytes on them under salt-free conditions. The initially formed polyelectrolyt…