Well-defined micropatterns of polymers prepared by controlled crystallization process

Surface confined recrystallization of highly-oriented polyethylene (PE) thin films realized by carbon-coating was utilized to control the morphological structure of ultrathin PE films. Selective carbon-coating with the help of a mask and subsequent recrystallization of the pre-oriented PE thin film lead to a partially structural control of the PE thin film in the coated domains. A fully structural control of the PE film is then fulfilled through a combination of surface confinement and heteroepitaxy of PE on the oriented poly(tetrafluroethylene) (PTFE) thin film. The thus obtained structure can serve as a template to induce pattern structures of a variety of other polymers through epitaxial growth. The poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(butylenes adipate) (PBA) micropattern thin films are shown in this paper as examples. These thin films exhibit different birefringence in different regions depending on the molecular orientation and may find potential applications in the fields of polarization-dependent display or storage.