Branched poly(ethyleneimine): a versatile scaffold for patterning polymer brushes by means of remote photocatalytic lithography

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Authors

External Organisational units

  • Chrstn. Doppler Lab. for Functional and Polymer Based Ink-Jet Inks -Astr Otto Glockel-Strasse 2
  • Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich
  • University of Montréal, École Polytechnique, Montréal, Canada

Abstract

Patterning of functional surfaces is one of the cornerstones of nanotechnology as it allows the fabrication of sensors and lab-on-a-chip devices. Here, the patterning of self-assembled monolayers of branched poly(ethyleneimine) (bPEI) on silica was achieved by means of remote photocatalytic lithography. Moreover, when 2-bromoisobutyryl-modified bPEI was used, the resulting pattern could be amplified by grafting polymer brushes by means of surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. In contrast to previous reports for the patterning of bPEI, the present approach can be conducted in minutes instead of hours, reducing the exposure time to UV radiation and enhancing the overall efficiency. Furthermore, our approach is much more user-friendly, allowing a facile fabrication of patterned initiator-modified surfaces and the use of inexpensive instrumentation such as a low-power UV source and a simple photomask. Considering the versatility of bPEI as a scaffold for the development of biosensors, patterning by means of remote photocatalytic lithography will open new opportunities in a broad field of applications.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number395302
JournalNanotechnology
Volume28.2017
Issue number39
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 8 Sept 2017