Chemical and geometrical criteria for the release of elastomeric 1D nanoarrays from porous nanotemplates.
Releasing 1D nanoarrays from nanotemplates is a significant challenge for the integration of mechanically soft materials in a variety of newly emerging technological areas. To fabricate nanoarrays without defects, the combined effects of the surface energy and the geometric features of the nanotemplate should be considered. A previously reported approach based on the correlation between the adhesion energy and the real contact area was not satisfactory to describe the rupture conditions of the nanofibers while they were being peeled off from the porous template. Here we demonstrate that the aspect ratio rather than the contact area of the nanoporous template is the key factor determining the upper limit of the pore length of the nanotemplate with respect to the rupture of the nanoarray during separation. We propose that the value of alpha(c)*, which is calculated with a simple expression in which the adhesion energy is multiplied by the aspect ratio, can be used as an excellent criterion for the fabrication of 1D nanoarrays without defects with a simple peel-off processes. Our approach opens up new applications for unconventional lithographic techniques, such as soft lithography, imprint lithography, and others.
Lee
Dong Yun
DY
Department of Chemical Engineering, Polymer Research Institute, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784, Korea.
Lee
Dae Ho
DH
Lim
Ho Sun
HS
Han
Joong Tark
JT
Cho
Kilwon
K
D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes / Q000737:chemistry; D020724:Elastomers / Q000737:chemistry*; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D016062:Porosity; D013499:Surface Properties
D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes; D020724:Elastomers; C013830:baysilon