title: Microstructured Hydrogel Templates for the Formation of Conductive Gold Nanowire Arrays.
abstract: Microstructured hydrogel allows for a new template-guided method to obtain conductive nanowire arrays on a large scale. To generate the template, an imprinting process is used in order to synthesize the hydrogel directly into the grooves of wrinkled polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The resulting poly(N-vinylimidazole)-based hydrogel is defined by the PDMS stamp in pattern and size. Subsequently, tetrachloroaurate(III) ions from aqueous solution are coordinated within the humps of the N-vinylimidazole-containing polymer template and reduced by air plasma. After reduction and development of the gold, to achieve conductive wires, the extension perpendicular to the long axis (width) of the gold strings is considerably reduced compared to the dimension of the parental hydrogel wrinkles (from ≈1 μm down to 200-300 nm). At the same time, the wire-to-wire distance and the overall length of the wires is preserved. The PDMS templates and hydrogel structures are analyzed with scanning force microscopy (SFM) and the gold structures via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The conductivity measurements of the gold nanowires are performed in situ in the SEM, showing highly conductive gold leads. Hence, this method can be regarded as a facile nonlithographic top-down approach from micrometer-sized structures to nanometer-sized features.
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Makromolekulare Materialien und Oberflächen, RWTH Aachen University, Forckenbeckstraße 50, 52056, Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wünnemann
authors.affiliation: Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, JARA-FIT, Landoltweg 1, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Noyong
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Makromolekulare Materialien und Oberflächen, RWTH Aachen University, Forckenbeckstraße 50, 52056, Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kreuels
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Makromolekulare Materialien und Oberflächen, RWTH Aachen University, Forckenbeckstraße 50, 52056, Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brüx
authors.affiliation: Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, A. Deusinglaan 1, 9747AG, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Pavlo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gordiichuk
authors.affiliation: Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, A. Deusinglaan 1, 9747AG, Groningen, The Netherlands.|University Medical Center Groningen Department of Biomedical Engineering-FB40, University of Groningen, A. Deusinglaan 1, 9713 AV, Groningen, The Netherlands.|W. J. Kolff Institute for Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science-FB41, University of Groningen, A. Deusinglaan 1, 9713AW, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: van Rijn
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 2, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Felix A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Plamper
authors.affiliation: Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, JARA-FIT, Landoltweg 1, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.affiliation: Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research (IAP) & Lehrstuhl für Polymermaterialien und Polymertechnologien, University of Potsdam, Geiselbergstraße 69, 14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany. alexander.boeker@iap.fraunhofer.de.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Böker
mesh_terms: D004553:Electric Conductivity; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D053770:Nanowires / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D006046:Gold
keywords: 1D structures; Au nanoarrays; microgel; nanoimprint lithography; thin films