Nanofabrication of thin polymer films

This chapter focuses on synthesis and characterization of the nanothick. 

For the majority of the initial experiments on the surface grafting a silicon wafer was used as a substrate, since it is now a standard surface (along with 

Reactive groups in trains attach the polymer to surface 

7 Schematic representation of reactive polymer attached to substrate (a). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images showing topography of PGMA layer deposited by dip-coating on silicon wafer (b) 10 X lOpm and (c) 1 x 1 pm.  

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The self-assembly of block polymers, in the bulk, thin film and solution states, produces uniformly sized nanostructured patterns that are very useful for nanofabrication. Optimal utilization of these nanoscopic patterns requires complete spatial and orientational control of the microdomains. However, the microdomains in the bulk state normally have grain sizes in the submicron range and have random orientations. In block copolymer thin films, the natural domain orientations are generally not desirable for nanofabrication. In particular, for composition-asymmetric cylindrical thin films, experimental... 

FIGURE 3.4 (A) Fabrication of polymer solar cell from PEDOTiPSS thin film. (B) Fabrication of a three-dimensional (3D) nonwoven nanofabric-based organic solar cell. (A) Reproduced with permission from reference Oh, J.Y., Shin, M., Lee, J.B., Ahn, J.-H., Baik, H.K., Jeong, U., 2014. Effect ofPEDOT nanofibril networks on the conductivity, flexibility, and coatability of PEDOT PSS films. ACSAppl. Mater. Interfaces 6, 6954-6961. Copyright 2014, Royal Society of Chemistry. 

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