Large-scale fabrication of commercially available, nonpolar linear polymer film with a highly ordered honeycomb pattern.
Highly ordered, hexagonally patterned poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) thin film is successfully fabricated using an improved phase separation method. A mixture of chloroform and methanol, which is used as a volatile solvent/nonsolvent pair, effectively controls the surface morphology and sensitively determines the ordered pattern. In particular, the methanol accumulation, which induces the formation of a gel-like protective layer and enhances the lateral capillary force, is crucial in the formation of the highly ordered hexagonal pattern even when using a nonpolar polymer such as PMMA. The convergence of cost-effective and large-scale production of highly ordered micropatterned film has wide potential for application, and it can enable new prospects for the commercialization of future high-tech devices that require specific multifunctionality.
†Department of Chemical Engineering, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon 305-764, Republic of Korea.
Van-Tien
VT
Bui
‡Institute for Basic Science, 70 Yuseong-daero 1689-gil, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon 305-811, Republic of Korea.
Seung Hyeon
SH
Ko
†Department of Chemical Engineering, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon 305-764, Republic of Korea.
Ho-Suk
HS
Choi
honeycomb film; methanol accumulation; ordered structure; phase separation; poly(methyl methacrylate)