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Patterned Layers of a Semiconducting Polymer via Imprinting and Microwave‐Assisted Grafting
Author(s) -
Moran Isaac W.,
Jhaveri Sarav B.,
Carter Kenneth R.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.200701251
Subject(s) - materials science , grafting , polymer , fluorescence , methacrylate , fabrication , microwave , fluorene , photopolymer , methyl methacrylate , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , polymer chemistry , composite material , optics , copolymer , polymerization , engineering , medicine , physics , alternative medicine , pathology , quantum mechanics
Enhancements in both the rate and extent of grafting of poly(9,9′‐ n ‐dihexyl fluorene) (PDHF) onto flat and nanopatterned crosslinked photopolymer films are described. Reactivity of the surfaces toward grafting via the Yamamoto‐type Ni(0)‐mediated coupling reaction is increased by synthesizing and incorporating 2,7‐dibromo‐9‐fluorenyl methacrylate (DBFM, 2 ) as a new grafting agent. Varying the concentration of surface‐embedded DBFM is shown to control both overall graft formation and fluorescence with a maximum thickness of up to 30 nm and peak emission at 407 nm for 40 wt% loading. In addition, microwave irradiation is introduced as an effective means to drive graft formation and thus allows fabrication of PDHF‐functionalized surfaces in as little as 30 min. Both forms of improvement are extended to DBFM‐embedded, nanocontact‐molded features ranging in size from 100 µm to 100 nm in width and 60 nm in height. Microwave‐assisted grafting from these patterned surfaces produces fluorescent features as imaged by optical microscopy and a corresponding increase in feature height as measured by atomic force microscopy.