title: SU-8-Induced Strong Bonding of Polymer Ligands to Flexible Substrates via in Situ Cross-Linked Reaction for Improved Surface Metallization and Fast Fabrication of High-Quality Flexible Circuits.
abstract: On account of in situ cross-linked reaction of epoxy SU-8 with poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) and its strong reactive bonding ability with different pretreated substrates, we developed a simple universal one-step solution-based coating method for fast surface modification of various objects. Through this method, a layer of P4VP molecules with controllable thickness can be tethered tightly onto substrates with the assistance of SU-8. P4VP molecules possess a lot of pyridine ligands to immobilize transitional metal ions that can behave as the catalyst of electroless copper plating for surface metallization while functioning as the adhesion-promoting layer between the substrate and deposited metal. Attributed to interpenetrated entanglement of P4VP molecules and as-deposited metal, ultrathick (>7 μm) strongly adhesive high-quality copper layer can be formed on flexible substrates without any delamination. Then through laser printer to print toner mask, a variety of designed circuits can be easily fabricated on modified flexible PET substrate.
authors: Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, The University of Western Ontario , London, Ontario N6A 5B9, Canada.
authors: Mingjun
authors: M
authors: Hu
authors: Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, The University of Western Ontario , London, Ontario N6A 5B9, Canada.
authors: Qiuquan
authors: Q
authors: Guo
authors: Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, The University of Western Ontario , London, Ontario N6A 5B9, Canada.
authors: Tengyuan
authors: T
authors: Zhang
authors: Department of Electronic and Information Engineering, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510641, P. R. China.
authors: Shaolin
authors: S
authors: Zhou
authors: Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, The University of Western Ontario , London, Ontario N6A 5B9, Canada.
authors: Jun
authors: J
authors: Yang
keywords: P4VP; SU-8 epoxy; electroless plating; flexible electronics; laser printer; pyridine ligand; surface modification