Morphology of poly(propylene azelate) gratings prepared by nanoimprint lithography as revealed by atomic force microscopy and grazing incidence X-ray scattering

Nanostructured gratings of semicrystalline poly(propylene azelate) (PPAz) have been prepared over spin-coated thin films by Nanoimprint Lithography (NIL). The structure and morphology of the gratings have been investigated by combining Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Grazing Incidence X-ray Scatte...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polymer (Guilford) 2015-03, Vol.61, p.61-67
Main Authors: Soccio, M., Rueda, D.R., García-Gutiérrez, M.C., Alayo, N., Pérez-Murano, F., Lotti, N., Munari, A., Ezquerra, T.A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atomic force microscopy
Crystal structure
Grazing incidence X-ray scattering
Lithography
Nanoimprint lithography
Nanotechnology
Polymer nanoconfinement
Scattering
Silicon substrates
Walls
X-rays
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Summary:Nanostructured gratings of semicrystalline poly(propylene azelate) (PPAz) have been prepared over spin-coated thin films by Nanoimprint Lithography (NIL). The structure and morphology of the gratings have been investigated by combining Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Grazing Incidence X-ray Scattering at small angle (GISAXS) and wide angle (GIWAXS). The results reveal that NIL affects significantly the orientation of the crystalline lamellae. PPAz gratings are more abundant in edge-on lamellae than the reference non-printed films. We attribute this effect to the PPAz preferential crystallization as flat-on lamellae on silicon surfaces either the stamp trench walls or the substrate surface. Thus, the flat-on lamellae on the trench walls appear to be edge-on lamellae in the printed sample. These results further support NIL as an appropriate procedure in order to control polymer crystal orientation. [Display omitted]
ISSN:0032-3861
1873-2291
DOI:10.1016/j.polymer.2015.01.066