Continuous equilibrated growth of ordered block copolymer thin films by electrospray deposition

ACS Nano. 2013 Apr 23;7(4):2960-70. doi: 10.1021/nn400279a. Epub 2013 Mar 11.

Abstract

Deposition of block copolymer thin films is most often accomplished in a serial process where material is spin coated onto a substrate and subsequently annealed, either thermally or by solvent vapor, to produce a well-ordered morphology. Here we show that under appropriate conditions, well-ordered block copolymer films may be continuously grown under substrate equilibrated conditions by slow deposition of discrete subattoliter quantities of material using electrospray. We conduct time-resolved observations and investigate the effects of process parameters that underpin film morphology including solvent selectivity, substrate temperature, block-substrate selectivity, and flow rate of the feed solution. For a PEO cylinder-forming poly(styrene-b-ethylene oxide) block copolymer, we uncover a wide temperature window from 90 to 150 °C and an ideal flow rate of 2 μL/min for ordered film deposition from dilute acetone solutions. PEO cylinders aligned with their long axes perpendicular to the film-air interface at optimal spray conditions. Using poly(styrene-b-methyl methacrylate) deposited onto neutrally selective surfaces, we show that the substrate-equilibrated process results in vertically oriented microdomains throughout the film, indicating a preservation of the initial substrate-dictated morphology during the film deposition. Electrospray offers a new and potentially exciting route for controlled, continuous growth of block copolymer thin films and manipulation of their microstructure.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Crystallization / methods*
  • Electroplating / methods*
  • Gases / chemistry
  • Macromolecular Substances / chemistry
  • Materials Testing
  • Membranes, Artificial*
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Nanostructures / chemistry*
  • Nanostructures / ultrastructure*
  • Particle Size
  • Polyethylene Glycols / chemistry*
  • Polystyrenes / chemistry*
  • Surface Properties

Substances

  • Gases
  • Macromolecular Substances
  • Membranes, Artificial
  • Polystyrenes
  • Polyethylene Glycols