Recent advances in honeycomb-structured porous polymer films prepared via breath figures

Since its introduction in 1994, the preparation of ordered porous polymer films by the breath figure (BF) method has received a considerable interest. The so-called “honeycomb” (HC) films exhibit a hexagonal array of micrometric pores obtained by water droplet condensation during the fast solvent evaporation performed under a humid flow. The main focus of this feature article is to describe the recent advances in the design of honeycomb polymer films by the BF process. We first review the recent studies related to the honeycomb film formation through the exploration of different parameters such as the relative humidity, the polymer concentration, the drying rate, the substrate or the role of interfacial tension. The influence of the architecture and microstructure of the polymer is examined through examples. In this contribution, a special attention is given to the recent articles focused on the preparation of elaborate functional honeycomb-structured polymer films obtained via the simple BF method. In this context, we review the preparation of hierarchical HC films showing either sub- or super-structure, the formation of hybrid HC films by self-assembly of nanoparticles or in situ generation of the inorganic matter, the fluorescence in HC films introduced either by a fluorescent polymer or by fluorescent chemical groups, the elaboration of biomaterials from HC films decorated by glycopolymer and/or showing sensing ability and finally the design of functional polymeric surfaces with either stimuli-responsive or superhydrophobic properties.     

Surface complexation reactions of inorganic anions on hydrotalcite-like compounds

In Qiao's previous report, only star polymers with T(g) (glass transition temperature) below 48°C were found forming homogeneous honeycomb coatings on the nonplanar substrates. The polymers with high T(g) are believed not able to duplicate nonplanar substrate due to their brittleness. This article presents a comprehensive study on the construction of macroporous polymeric films on various nonplanar substrates with static breath figure (BF) technique, using linear polymers with high T(g). Two kinds of linear polymers with high T(g), polystyrene-b-poly(acrylic acid) and polystyrene without polar end groups, are employed to prepare 3-dimensional macroporous films on different nonplanar substrates. Scanning electronic microscopy views on the side wall in addition to views in-plane prove that polymer films with BF array perfectly replicated the surface features of these substrates. The formation processes of macropores on these substrates are analyzed in detail, and it demonstrates that neither molecular topography nor T(g) of polymers is the critical factor contouring nonplanar substrate. A new hypothesis involving polymer plasticization and conformation during the solvent evaporation is formulated.     

Self-organized polymer nanocomposite inverse opal films with combined optical properties

Inverse opal films with unique optical properties have potential as photonic crystal materials and have stimulated wide interest in recent years. Herein, iridescent hybrid polystyrene/nanoparticle macroporous films have been prepared by using the breath‐figure method. The honeycomb‐patterned thin films were prepared by casting gold nanoparticle‐doped polystyrene solutions in chloroform at high relative humidity. Highly ordered hexagonal arrays of monodisperse pores with an average diameter of 880 nm are obtained. To account for the observed features, a microscopic phase separation of gold nanoparticles is proposed to occur in the breath‐figure formation. That is, individual gold nanoparticles adsorb at the solution/water interface and effectively stabilize condensed water droplets on the solution surface in a hexagonal array. Alternatively, at high nanoparticle concentrations the combination of breath‐figure formation and nanoparticle phase separation leads to hierarchical structures with spherical aggregates under a honeycomb monolayer. The films show large features in both the visible and NIR regions that are attributed to a combination of nanoparticle and ordered‐array absorptions. Organic ligand‐stabilized CdSe/CdS quantum dots or Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles may be loaded into the honeycomb structure to further modify the films. These results demonstrate new methods for the fabrication and functionalization of inverse opal films with potential applications in photonic and microelectronic materials.     

Effect of polar groups of polystyrenes on the self-assembly of breath figure arrays

The breath figure (BF) process has been widely used to prepare patterned porous films. The mechanism remains to be further elucidated, especially how polymer architectures affect the stability of water droplets and the pore structure. Polystyrenes (PS) was functionalized with a series of polar groups both in chain middle and chain end, which was synthesized by using difunctional atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiators with the combination of nucleophilic substitution of the end bromine. It is found that PS with polar groups, which help to reduce interfacial tension, tends to form regular patterns at low concentration and to generate multilayered pores. The coalescence resistance measurement was performed to characterize the stabilization of water droplets from polymers by precipitation. The results show opposite trend with the results of the BF process, indicating a minor role played by polymer precipitation on microdroplets stabilization. We reveal that addition of only an oxyethyl group in the chain middle of PS contributes to the formation of ordered patterns. This study helps to shed light on the impact of polymer architectures on the self-assembly behavior in the BF process.     

Polystyrene‐b‐poly(2,2,2‐trifluoroethyl acrylate)‐b‐polystyrene copolymers: Synthesis and fabrication of their hydrophobic porous films,spheres, and fibers

New block copolymers Polystyrene‐b‐poly (2,2,2‐trifluoroethyl acrylate)‐b‐Polystyrene (PS‐PTFEA‐PS) with controlled molecular weight (M_n=5000‐11000 g?mol^?1) and narrow molecular weight distribution (M_w/M_n=1.13‐1.17) were synthesized via RAFT polymerization. The molecular structure and component of PS‐PTFEA‐PS block copolymers were characterized through ¹H NMR, ¹⁹F NMR, GPC, FT‐IR and elemental analysis. The porous films of such copolymers with average pore size of 0.80‐1.34 μm and good regularity were fabricated via a static breath‐figure (BF) process. The effects of solvent, temperature, and polymer concentration on the surface morphology of such film were investigated. In addition, microstructured spheres and fibers of such block copolymers were fabricated by electrospinning process and observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the hydrophobicity of porous films, spheres, and fibers was investigated. The porous film showed a good hydrophobicity with the water‐droplet contact angles of 129°, and the fibers showed higher hydrophobicity with the water‐droplet contact angles of 142°. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 678–685     

呼吸图案法制备蜂窝状有序多孔薄膜及其功能化应用

呼吸图案(BF)法是一种制备微纳米级规整多孔结构的简单、廉价和高效的方法, 它以水滴为模板, 通过水滴有序排列得到蜂窝状有序多孔结构, 其孔的形貌可以通过选择不同的成膜材料和成膜环境等条件得到控制, 所以在分离膜、模板、响应性表面、催化剂、光电材料等研究领域有广阔的发展前景. 但是, 到目前为止, 人们发现由于成膜条件的不同, 多孔膜的孔形貌受多种因素影响, 规整多孔膜形貌的控制机理还不是很明确, 没有一个统一的结论. 本文结合本课题组所做工作及近五年来国内外呼吸图案法制备蜂窝状有序多孔薄膜的研究成果, 对多孔薄膜的形成过程及其影响因素、多孔膜的功能化及应用等方面进行了归纳总结, 试图揭示孔的形成及孔形貌的调控等相关规律, 希望对后续的进一步研究与应用奠定基础.     

Ordered porous films of biomass-based polymers by breath figure: a review

Ordered porous films of polymers with uniform pore size and ordered porous structure are extensively applied in many fields such as separation, biology, photoelectric devices, templates, and other fields, which is the current research frontier in the field of porous films. Among different methods of preparing ordered porous films, the method of breath figure (BF) has attracted much attention due to its simplicity and adjustability. Many factors have been proved to influence the structure of the porous films by the BF method and the used polymer is the most important one. Recently, under the background of energy crisis and environmental pollution, polymers from biomass have received a lot of attention because of their advantages of low carbon, green, good biocompatibility, and easy modification. Up to now, a large number of porous films of biomass-based polymers including cellulose, polylactic acid, and urushiol-based polymers have been prepared by the BF method. Therefore, this article is to make a detailed review of the physicochemical modification of biomass-based polymers, the preparation of ordered porous films via BF and their applications. The method of BF is firstly introduced. The research progress of porous films of biomass-based polymers including cellulose, polylactic acid, and urushiol-based polymers prepared by the BF method is then reviewed. Finally, this review highlights the use of honeycomb films as cell culture substrates, drug delivery, wound dressings, optoelectronic devices and mimicking woody cell walls. The prospects for the development of porous films of biomass-based polymers are proposed. Future research could focus on the preparation of ordered, functional, and biocompatible porous films with smaller pore sizes for more applications in different fields, such as separation, tissue engineering, and controlled release of drugs.

Graphic abstract

Ordered porous films of biomass-based polymers via physical and chemical modification would be prepared by the breath figure method for different applications.

     

Rings of nanoparticle-decorated honeycomb-structured polymeric film: the combination of pickering emulsions and capillary flow in the breath figures method

The self-assembly of nanoparticles at the fluid/fluid interface (Pickering emulsions) in the breath figures (BF) method have been explored to direct nanoparticles onto BF microarrays and adjust the BF assembly in microsize. Circular rings of nanoparticle-decorated honeycomb-structured polymeric film can be obtained by a one-step process. The combination of Pickering emulsions and capillary flow in the BF method may be responsible for the formation of this intriguing structure.     

基于静态呼吸图技术的图案化方法

对呼吸图技术制备二维有序多孔结构的研究进展进行了综合评述, 并重点介绍了本课题组发展的静态呼吸图技术. 利用静态呼吸图法, 可制备高度有序的聚合物、聚合物/无机物微孔膜. 这些有序的结构可以直接应用于光掩膜. 进一步, 多孔聚合物膜可以被紫外光交联和改性. 表面改性的多孔聚合物膜可以用于细胞支架. 而交联的聚合物/无机物前驱体微孔膜可以用来制备无机纳米材料阵列. 结果表明, 静态呼吸图技术是一种简单、高效的对聚合物、聚合物/无机物薄膜进行图案化的通用方法,并展示了图案化薄膜广阔的功能化前景.     

Stabilization of self‐assembled microdroplets using short chain alcohols

The condensation of water vapor on a volatile polymeric solution leads to a porous surface after evaporation of both solvent and water. However, the stabilization of the water microdroplet is of great importance, which can be achieved using specific polymer or adding a third substance to the polymer solution. Short chain alcohols (methanol, ethanol, and n‐propanol) are utilized to fabricate a self‐assembled porous honeycomb film of linear, low molecular weight polystyrene using the breath figure technique. A combination of breath figure processing and the effect of alcohol on a water droplet can stabilize the pattern and make pores on the surface of the polymer film. The quality of the porous honeycomb film is strongly dependent on the type of alcohols and the concentration of polymer. In a specific range of polymer and alcohol concentration, pores cover all the surface of the polymer film. This method offers the possibility of producing a honeycomb structure with no trace of additive residual after the fabrication process and avoiding polymer modification. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 709–718     

基于粒子辅助水滴模板法制备仿生复眼结构的研究

将微粒“皮克林乳化效应”(Pickering emulsions)和水滴模板法(breath figure method)有机结合,探索通过建立粒子辅助的水滴模板法,实现纳米粒子在蜂窝状多孔膜内壁的自组装复合,构建微纳复合的多级仿生结构.并进一步利用聚二甲基硅氧烷(PDMS)复制转移技术,获得类似于复眼结构的多级微纳复合界面仿生结构.     

Breath figure patterns prepared by spin coating in a dry environment

We introduce a novel method for fabricating breath figure patterns on a homopolymer film by spin coating of polymer solutions with various solvents. The homopolymers employed in this study were cellulose acetate butyrate, monocarboxylated end-functional polystyrene, and poly(methyl methacrylate). Breath figure patterns were generated even when a water-miscible solvent such as tetrahydrofuran (THF) was used as a solvent. We even succeeded in generating breath figure patterns by spin coating even under a dry environment (relative humidity less than 30%), when water was directly added into THF solution. With the combination of the spin coating method, pores with a few hundred nanometers to several micrometers have been generated. We found that the pore size becomes larger with increasing water content in THF solution and decreasing rotating speed. This is equivalent to increasing humidity and decreasing evaporation speed, respectively, in the conventional method, which is direct solvent evaporation under a humid environment. Thus, compared with the conventional method for making breath figure patterns, this method would be very convenient for fabricating large-scale films with various pore sizes.     

两亲性Janus粒子在蜂窝状多孔聚合物膜上的自组装性能

采用具有两亲性的两面体(Janus)粒子实现稳定的粒子界面组装与水滴模板法自组装过程相结合的方法获得了粒子在蜂窝状多孔聚合物薄膜内壁的高效定向修饰.通过与均质粒子组装形貌的对比,证明了Janus粒子因其特殊的界面自组装活性,可以获得高粒子加量条件下的规则多孔结构,解决了使用均质粒子时存在的结构有序性和粒子修饰密度之间的矛盾.而在较低粒子加量的条件下,Janus粒子也展示出与均质粒子极为不同的组装形貌.这一方法的建立,为新型表面功能化材料的制备提供了一个新的思路.     

智能蜂窝状有序多孔薄膜：体系构建、响应性能及应用探索

蜂窝状有序多孔膜是一种典型的具有微、纳米尺寸的图案化高分子薄膜材料,在超疏水表面、光电材料、组织工程、生物医学、传感器等领域都具有良好的应用前景。表面形貌或性质具有可逆刺激响应特性的智能型多孔膜不仅拥有常规多孔膜的性能,而且还拥有独特的"开-关"功能,因此受到广泛关注。本文回顾了智能有序多孔膜近年的研究进展,重点对其体系构建、响应方式、机理、性能和相关应用进行了归纳与分析,评述了不同刺激响应多孔膜的特点及优劣势,探讨了智能多孔膜的优化设计及提高响应性能等问题,指出了目前面临的挑战,并展望了未来的发展方向。     

Directional Photomanipulation of Breath Figure Arrays

Porous polymeric films are of paramount importance in many areas of modern science and technology. However, processing methods typically based on direct writing, imprint, and lithography techniques have low throughput and are often limited to specific fabricated shapes. Herein, we demonstrate the directional photomanipulation of breath figure arrays (BFAs) formed by an azobenzene‐containing block copolymer to address the aforementioned problems. Under the irradiation of linearly polarized light, the round pores in the BFAs were converted to rectangular, rhombic, and parallelogram‐shaped pores in 30 min, due to the anisotropic mass migration based on the photo‐reconfiguration of the azobenzene units. Through a secondary irradiation after rotating the sample by 90°, the transformed pores were apparently recovered. Therefore, this non‐contacted, directional photomanipulation technique in conjunction with breath figure processing opens a new route to nano/microporous films with finely tuned features.     

Surfactant-induced formation of honeycomb pattern on micropipette with curvature gradient

Breath figure (BF) process is a facile method to prepare honeycomb structures by dynamic movements of condensed micrometer-sized water droplets at the interface of volatile fluid. Here, we aim to find answers to understand how the BF process occurs on micropipettes with curvature gradient and to understand the role of the surfactant in obtaining honeycomb patterns. Poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) chloroform solution with dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) as surfactant was utilized. It is found that the honeycomb structure formed on the micropipettes changes remarkably with the gradually increased surface curvature. The variation trends of the arrangement and diameter of pores on the micropipettes with the increasing curvature are similar to the different time stages of BF process: smaller and sparse pores formed at higher curvature are similar to those formed at early stage of BF; regular honeycomb patterns formed at lower curvature are similar to those formed at the late stage of BF. Especially, the "semi-coalescence" hemispherical pores strings are found at high curvatures on PLLA-DOPE films, indicating the surfactant-induced coalescence of water droplets in BF process. The differences of drying speed of polymer solvent on micropipette with gradually increased curvatures make the printing of the pores at different BF stages on polymer film possible. These findings not only strongly support the mechanism of BF array formation, but also elucidate the surfactant-induced coalescence.     

A microfluidic viscometer: Translation of oscillatory motion of a water microdroplet in oil under electric field

The electric field induced motion of a charged water droplet suspended in a low-dielectric oil medium is exploited to evaluate the rheological properties of the suspending medium. The time-periodic electrophoretic motion of the droplet between the electrodes decorated in a polymeric micro-well is translated into a proof-of-concept microfluidic prototype, which can measure viscosities of the unknown fluid samples. The variations in the instantaneous velocities of the migrating droplet have been measured inside silicone oil of known physical properties at different electric field intensities. Subsequently, a balance between the electric field to the viscous force has been employed to evaluate the experimental charge density on the droplet surface. Thereafter, a comprehensive scaling law has been devised to find a correlation between the charge on the droplet to the dielectric permittivity of the surrounding medium, size of the water droplet, and the applied electric field intensity. Following this, the scaling law and force balance have been employed together to evaluate the unknown viscosity of an array of suspending mediums by simply analyzing the electrophoretic motion of water droplet. The model proposed is also found to be consistent when a solid amberlite microparticle has been employed as a probe instead of the water droplet. In such a scenario, minor changes in the exponents of the scaling law are found to be necessary to reproduce the results obtained using the water droplet. The method paves the way for the making of an economical and portable microfluidic rheometer with further finetuning and translational developments.     

Synthesis of star-shaped polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) fluorinated acrylates for hydrophobic honeycomb porous film application

Two different eight-arm star-shaped polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) fluorinated acrylates were synthesized through atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and applied for hydrophobic honeycomb-patterned porous films through the breath figure (BF) method. The structure of polymers was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and surface analysis was featured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Depending on the influences of polymer architectures, solvents utilized, and solution concentrations, honeycomb-patterned porous films were obtained. It could be found that the introduction of fluorine components was a favorable condition for BF formation and chloroform (CHCl₃) utilized as solvent with an appropriate concentration of 30 mg/mL was the best condition for these hydrophobic honeycomb-patterned porous films. Meanwhile, the obtained honeycomb films could be retained after long-time preservation in an acid-base condition, which shows a great potential in filtration, cell culture, tissue engineering, and marine antifouling applications.     

Amphiphilic dendronized homopolymers

A series of second generation of amphiphilic dendronized homopolymers are efficiently synthesized, and their thermoresponsiveness in aqueous solutions and secondary structures in methanol solutions are described. These polymers are constructed in each repeat unit with various generations of hydrophobic 4-aminoproline and hydrophilic oligoethylene glycol (OEG)-based dendrons, and their over-all hydrophilicity is tuned by varying these dendron generations. Polymers with or without the first generation of proline dendron show good water solubility at room temperature, but exhibit typical thermoresponsive behaviors at elevated temperatures as characterized by turbidity measurements using UV-vis spectroscopy, while the polymer with the secondary generation of proline dendron is not soluble in water. All polymers show ordered secondary structures as evidenced by the optical rotation and circular dichroism experiments. Finally, assembly of these amphiphilic homopolymers into porous films via breath figure (BF) technique is described, and polymer structures are found to show significant influence on the morphology of porous film.     

Honeycomb self-assembled peptide scaffolds by the breath figure method

The self-assembly of molecules into desired architectures is currently a challenging subject for the development of supramolecular chemistry. Here we present a facile "breath figure" assembly process through the use of the self-assembled peptide building block diphenylalanine (L-Phe-L-Phe, FF). Macroporous honeycomb scaffolds were fabricated, and average pore size could be regulated, from (1.00±0.18) μm to (2.12±0.47) μm, through the use of different air speeds. It is indicated that the honeycomb formation is humidity-, solvent-, concentration-, and substrate-dependent. Moreover, water molecules introduced from "breath figure" intervene in the formation of hydrogen bonds during FF molecular self-assembly, which results in a hydrogen bond configuration transition from antiparallel β sheet to parallel β sheet. Meanwhile, as a result of the higher polarity of water molecules, the FF molecular array is transformed from laminar stacking into a hexagonal structure. These findings not only elucidate the FF molecule self-assembly process, but also strongly support the mechanism of breath figure array formation. Finally, human embryo skin fibroblast (ESF) culture experiments suggest that FF honeycomb scaffolds are an attractive biomaterial for growth of adherent cells with great potential applications in tissue engineering.