Fabrication of Micropatterned Gold Nanoparticle Arrays as a Template for Surface-Initiated Polymerization of Stimuli-Responsive Polymers

• Published in: Macromolecular rapid communications. 2006-05, Vol.27 (10), p.776-780
• Main Authors: Jung, Jaeyoen, Kim, Ki Woo, Na, Kyunga, Kaholek, Marian, Zauscher, Stefan, Hyun, Jinho
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; atomic force microscopy (AFM); Exact sciences and technology; micropatterning; nanoparticles; Organic polymers; Physicochemistry of polymers; poly(N-isopropylacrylamide); Properties and characterization; Structure, morphology and analysis; templates
• ISSN: 1022-1336; 1521-3927
• DOI: 10.1002/marc.200600069

This paper demonstrates a new, reliable, and simple method for fabricating micropatterned nanoparticle arrays that can serve as templates for the surface‐initiated polymerization of polymer brushes. As a proof of concept, we micropatterned gold nanoparticles (Au‐NPs, ≈10 nm) onto glass, silicon, polystyrene, and gold surfaces by a simple three‐step process: (1) microcontact printing of soluble polymer, (2) incubation with a solution of Au‐NPs, and (3) lift‐off of the template in a mixture of ethanol and deionized water. 40 µm wide features were successfully fabricated without any significant defects or nonspecific adsorption on the background. To demonstrate the utility of these Au‐NP templates, we subsequently polymerized N‐isopropylacrylamide by surface‐initiated polymerization, using a surface‐bound initiator. Synthesis of PNIPAAm brushes from micropatterned Au‐NP.