title: Permanent bubble arrays from a cross-linked poly(para-phenyleneethynylene): picoliter holes without microfabrication.
abstract: An azide-substituted poly(para-phenyleneethynylene) (PPE) 4 was prepared by the Heck-Cassar-Sonogashira-Hagihara method. Thin films of 4 form self-assembled bubble arrays from carbon disulfide solution utilizing the breath figure method. The as-formed porous films of 4 are soluble in common solvents, and the air bubbles are interconnected. Upon heating to 300 degrees C, 4 cross-links and the thin film turn into insoluble matrix with isolated bubbles. The cross-linking process has transformed the bubble arrays of 4 into insoluble picoliter beakers or picoliter vials, whose diameters are approximately 3.0 and 1.5 mum at the top and bottom, respectively.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA.
authors.forename: Belma
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Erdogan
authors.forename: Lulu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: James N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Jung O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Mohan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Srinivasarao
authors.forename: Uwe H F
authors.initials: UH
authors.lastname: Bunz