Templated films, self-assembled

The self-assembling character of bilayer membranes is demonstrated by the formation of free-standing cast films from aqueous dispersions of synthetic bilayer membranes. The tendencies for association are sufficiently strong to allow the addition of guest molecules (nanoparticles, proteins, and various small molecules) to these films where the connective forces are secondary in nature and not primary. Synthetic polymer chemists have made use of these self-assembling tendencies to synthesize monolayer films. In particular, a monomer that contains both reactive groups and hydrophobic and hydrophilic areas is cast onto an appropriate template that self-assembles the monomer, holding it for subsequent polymerization. Thus, a bilayer structure is formed by... 

The inherent ability of block copolymers to self-assemble into various well-ordered supramolecular structures makes them attractive for numerous technological applications. For instance, thin films self-assembled from block copolymers have been used as building blocks in nanotechnology and materials science [89-91 ]. Block copolymers have been employed directly without further manipulation as nanomaterials [92], or used as self-organized templates for the creation of nanos-tructured materials [92, 93]. Block copolymer blends demonstrated their applicability as patterning templates for the fabrication of well-ordered arrays [94], as well as for nanoscale manufacturing of more complex patterns [95]. The use of amphiphilic block copolymers for templating applications has been reviewed by FOrster [96]. 

Etienne, M. Walcarius, A. 2005. Evaporation induced self-assembly of templated silica and organosilica thin films on various electrode surfaces. Electrochem. Comm. 7 1449-1456. 

In 2004, Olayo-Valles et al. described a related dry-etch processing of self-assembled block copolymer films to generate porous materials for use as magnetic material templates [50]. These authors employed thin films of... 

Abstract This article is a review of the chemical and physical nature of patternable block copolymers and their use as templates for functional nanostructures. The patternability of block copolymers, that is, the ability to make complex, arbitrarily shaped submicron structures in block copolymer films, results from both their ability to self-assemble into microdomains, the bottom-up approach, and the manipulation of these patterns by a variety of physical and chemical means including top-down lithographic techniques. Procedures for achieving long-range control of microdomain pattern orientation as well... 

The properties of ordered structures in block copolymer melts have yet to be fully exploited, but the structural and rheological anisotropy is likely to lead to applications not all of which can be envisaged yet. The precision self-assembly of block copolymers into ordered structures for thin film and interfacial applications has enormous potential. Other applications such as nanoscale templates, membranes and filters could exploit the self-assembly of block copolymers into domains with periods 10-100 nm. The possibilities are limited only by the molecular engineer s imagination. 

Crystallization amounts by nature to the self-assembly of very large, boundaryless supramolecular species. Its control is a goal of major importance in order to be able to generate solid-state materials of specific structural and physical properties (see also Sections 7.1, 7.2, 9.4.4 [7.39-7.42, 9.105, 9.245]). Supramolecular effects play a crucial role. Directional growth of materials may be induced by a template and involve molecular recognition [9.246], occurring by epitaxy [9.247] or on oriented thin films [9.248]. 

---