title: Tailored nanoporous coatings fabricated on conformable polymer substrates.
abstract: Nanoporous coatings have become the subject of intense investigation, in part because they have been shown to have unique and tailorable physical properties that can depart greatly from their dense or macroscopic counterparts. Nanoporous coatings are frequently fabricated utilizing oblique-angle or glancing-angle physical vapor-phase deposition techniques. However, a significant limitation for such coatings exists; they are almost always deposited on smooth and rigid planar substrates, such as silicon and glass. This limitation greatly constrains the applicability, tailorability, functionality and even the economic viability, of such nanoporous coatings. Here, we report our findings on nanoporous/polymer composite systems (NPCS) fabricated by utilizing oblique-angle electron-beam methodology. These unique composite systems exhibit several favorable characteristics, namely, (i) fine-tuned control over coating nanoporosity and thickness, (ii) excellent adhesion between the nanoporous coating and polymer substrate, (iii) the ability to withstand significant and repeated bending, and (iv) the ability to be molded conformably on two and three-dimensional surfaces while closely retaining the composite system's designed nanoporous film structure and, hence, properties.
authors.affiliation: Rensselaer Nanotechnology Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 Eighth Street, Troy, New York 12180, USA. poxsod2@rpi.edu
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Poxson
authors.forename: Frank W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Mont
authors.forename: Jaehee
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: E Fred
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Schubert
authors.forename: Richard W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Siegel
mesh_terms: D000268:Adhesiveness; D000327:Adsorption; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010316:Particle Size; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D011108:Polymers