PROFESSOR @MIT, DEPARTMENT OF MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Directed Self-assembly of Block Copolymers for Nanofabrication and Nanotechnology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Cambridge MA 02139 USA
Block copolymers microphase separate to form periodic patterns with features of a few nm and above. The self-assembled nanostructures adopt a variety of bulk geometries, including lamellae, gyroids, arrays of cylinders or spheres, archimedean tiling patterns, meshes, or core–shell structures, depending on the molecular architecture of the polymer and the volume fraction of its blocks, making them attractive materials for nanofabrication and nanolithography. Substrate patterning combined with solvent annealing can guide the assembly to form a diverse range of 2D and 3D geometries. Furthermore, the block copolymer patterns can be functionalized with metals and oxides and used to make nanostructures, nanowires, superhydrophobic surfaces, and metallic meshes with a wide range of nanotechnological applications.
