Synthesis of segregated grafted polymer layers

COLL 458

Igor Luzinov, Yong Liu, and Viktor Klep. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Clemson University, 263Sirrine Hall, Clemson, SC 29634-0971
The fabrication of patterned surfaces is an area of increasing importance due to its applications in the fields of lithography, molecular-scale electronics, magnetic storage, optoelectronics, and bioengineering. Reported methods for creating patterned surface include microcontact printing, electron beam (EB) lithography, photo-patterning of self-assembled monolayer (SAM), and phase-separation in mixed SAM. In the present work we used phase-separated ultrathin films made of a polymer blend to create a patterned surface. Several distinct morphologies such as dispersed and co-continuous were observed. Next, grafting of end-functionalized polymers and surface-initiated polymerization were conducted to amplify the patterns created by the blends and synthesize phase segregated grafted polymer layers.