Universal Surface Modification via Polymeric Nanomosaic Coating to Control Domain Orientations in Block Copolymer Thin Films

Abstract

Block copolymer (BCP) self-assembly has achieved great advances in nanotechnology over the past several decades. The precise control of interfacial properties on substrate is crucial to obtain the perpendicularly orientated BCP nanostructures in thin film required in BCP nanopatterning. Herein, effective and universal interfacial engineering via polymeric nanomosaic (PNM) coating is reported. The PNM patterns derived from the air/water interfacial self-assembly of BCPs can be tuned with a few-nm-resolution and transferred to substrates, which enables an accurate control of a surface energy of the substrates. Additionally coated BCPs on the PNM coated substrates successfully self-assembled to have a perpendicular domain orientation. Furthermore, the PNM coating can be applied to a curved, flexible, and three-dimensional substrates in an extensive spectrum of materials including metals, metal oxides, ceramics, and polymers, providing a greater opportunity for soft-matter lithography.