Nondestructive Mechanical Release of Ordered Polymer Microfiber Arrays from Porous Templates

The fabrication of one‐dimensional (1D) nanostructures and microstructures inside the pores of porous templates is intensively investigated. The release of these structures is commonly accomplished by etching and destroying the templates. The 1D nanostructures and microstructures tend to condense be...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Germany), 2007-06, Vol.3 (6), p.993-1000
Main Authors: Grimm, Silko, Schwirn, Kathrin, Göring, Petra, Knoll, Heiko, Miclea, Paul T., Greiner, Andreas, Wendorff, Joachim H., Wehrspohn, Ralf B., Gösele, Ulrich, Steinhart, Martin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
arrays
Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
microstructures
Nanostructures - chemistry
polymers
Polystyrenes - chemistry
Polyvinyls - chemistry
Porosity
Silicon Dioxide - chemistry
templates
wetting
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Summary:The fabrication of one‐dimensional (1D) nanostructures and microstructures inside the pores of porous templates is intensively investigated. The release of these structures is commonly accomplished by etching and destroying the templates. The 1D nanostructures and microstructures tend to condense because of the occurrence of capillary forces during drying of the specimens. It is shown that highly ordered arrays of polymer microfibers can be easily detached from silanized porous templates by mechanical lift‐off. This procedure leaves the templates intact, thus allowing their recycling, and does not involve the use of solutions or solvents, thus circumventing condensation. Therefore, mechanical lift‐off may enable the up‐scaling of template‐based approaches to the fabrication of highly ordered assemblies of 1D nanostructures and microstructures. Recycling replaces destruction: The nondestructive mechanical removal of polymer microfibers (see image) from porous templates by mechanical lift‐off is reported. The “dry” release of the microfibers circumvents their condensation and the destruction of the templates by wet‐chemical etching.
ISSN:1613-6810
1613-6829
DOI:10.1002/smll.200600544