Nanostructuring with a crosslinkable discotic material.
A high-yielding synthesis afforded a hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene carrying acrylate units at the end of six attached alkyl spacers. The polymerization of these acrylate moieties could be initiated with thermal energy and through direct photoactivation without the addition of a photoinitiator. This allowed the organization of the liquid-crystalline material to be fixed in either the crystalline state or the mesophase, which preserved the organization in the respective phase. The use of a focused synchrotron beam permitted selected regions of a thin film to be rendered insoluble. After "developing" the film in this lithographic process by dissolving the soluble, unpolymerized material, defined nano-objects remained on the substrate. In addition, the pronounced aromatic pi stacking of the novel material allows an organization in mesoporous membranes that could be fixed by thermal crosslinking. After the removal of the inorganic template, mechanically stable nanotubes were obtained, which were characterized by different microscopy techniques.
Kastler
Marcel
M
Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
Pisula
Wojciech
W
Davies
Richard J
RJ
Gorelik
Tatiana
T
Kolb
Ute
U
Müllen
Klaus
K
D000179:Acrylates / Q000737:chemistry*; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000737:chemistry; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D050866:Liquid Crystals / Q000737:chemistry*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*
D000179:Acrylates; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; C009495:titanium dioxide; D014025:Titanium