Nanostructures and Functionalities in Polymer Thin Films

Several examples of self-organization in thin polymer films are considered for the fabrication of nanopatterned surfaces and nanoscopic objects. Mixed polymer brushes of statistical distribution at the surface, composed of two immiscible polymers covalently bonded to the substrate phase, segregate in the sub-micrometer scale. Interplay between lateral and perpendicular (sandwich-like) segregation effects switching behavior of the thin films upon exposure to different environments. The switching between brush morphologies is used for the fabrication of adaptive/responsive surfaces. Fabrication of nano-domains based on microphase segregation in block-copolymer systems is used for structures with lateral dimensions as small as 5-50 nm. The ordered copolymer structures are applied as templates for the fabrication of membranes, nanofibers and nanoparticles.