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Continuous and patterned deposition of functional block copolymer thin films using electrospray

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 June 2015

Hanqiong Hu
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA
Kristof Toth
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA
Myungwoong Kim
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry, Inha University, Incheon 402-751, Republic of Korea
Padma Gopalan
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
Chinedum O. Osuji*
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA
*
Address all correspondence to Chinedum Osuji atchinedum.osuji@yale.edu
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Abstract

We report the use of electrospray to continuously deposit thin films, including patterned films, of a block copolymer (BCP). High substrate temperatures led to vertically oriented cylindrical microdomains at the film surface independent of the solvent composition and deposition rates utilized. Conversely, low substrate temperatures resulted in morphologies that were more sensitive to these parameters, with poorly ordered films of globular structures observed at the lowest temperatures considered. The deposition pattern is defined by spatially varying the electric field at the substrate using an underlying charged grid. These results open up new possibilities for patterned deposition of BCP films with morphological control.

Type
Polymers/Soft Matter Research Letters
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2015 

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