title: Preparation of non-spherical particles by shell-shield etching for near-field nanopatterning.
abstract: The shape of polymer particles plays an important role in determining their function. In this paper, we describe a simple and unconventional method called shell-shield etching (SSE) that allows us to prepare freestanding submicrometer- or micrometer-sized polymer particles with various shapes. By precisely varying the time of ultraviolet ozone treatment under the partial shielding effect of the silica shell, we controllably reshape polymer spheres into symmetry-reduced polymer peaches, mushrooms, bowls, and plates. Finite difference time domain simulations indicate that the non-spherical particles obtained from the SSE method might have potential for near-field nanopatterning applications.
authors: Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Medicine Device and Technology at Med-X, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, People's Republic of China.
authors: Jian
authors: J
authors: Ye
authors: Lagae
authors: L
authors: Liesbet