We are working with chemists at IBM-Almaden to establish new methods for the preparation ultra-thin polymer films with well-defined physical properties (such as thickness, surface energy and wettability).
As shown in Figure 1, the approach we are pursuing is based on the decoration of surfaces with initiators for polymerization, and growth of polymers from the surface-immobilized initiators. By using living methods of polymerization (e.g., atom transfer radical polymerization or ring opening polymerization), we have demonstrated a high level of control over the structure and properties of polymeric brushes.
It is also possible to pattern polymer brushes by patterning initiators on the surface. As shown in Figure 2, we have used microcontact printing to pattern polymer brushes on the micrometer-scale. We are using the patterned polymer brushes as “resists” for pattern transfer into the underlying substrates. We are also using these polymeric brushes to anchor liquid crystals.