Copolymer templates, inorganic nanostructures

Nanostructured polymers, in particular block copolymers, have immense potential in areas ranging from templating inorganic materials to permeation/ filtration media, nano-assaying, nanolithography and high density data storage media. 

Block copolymers can be employed as templates to direct the deposition of inorganic nanostructures. Parket al. [82] used an Os04-stained microphase-separated thin film of poly(styrene-foZock-butadiene) that produced holes upon RIE in silicon nitride substrates. The etch ratio between the two phases, stained butadiene and styrene, was only about 1 2. MoUer et aL discussed the use of poly(styrene-fc/ock-2-vinylpyridine), to prepare masks for nanolithography by loading the PVP domains with gold particles [83] or by selective growth of Ti on top of the PS domains [84]. 

Inorganic Nanostructures on Surfaces Using Micellar Diblock Copolymer Templates... 

This section has discussed a diverse range of self-assembled synthetic macromolecules such as block copolymers and elastm-like polymers for template-directed assembly of different types of inorganic nanoparticles into anisotropic ID nanostructures. In the next section, we introduce a simple and cost-effective approach for directing the assembly of gold nanoparticles into ID structures via self-assembly of a short commercially available surfactant. 

For technical purposes, triblock copolymers of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) are frequently used (often called poloxamers) [5]. Since approximately 1950, these polymers have been produced on large scale as Pluronics (BASF), Synperonics (ICI), or Genapol, and the self-assembly of these systems is already the subject of a large number of investigations (see e.g., [6-10]). More recently, BCPs have been used as templates for the preparation of ordered nanostructured inorganic materials such as SBA-15 [11-13], or in the synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles [14-23]. 

---