conductive substrate to form a thin film with alternating gyroid morphology,
followed by ozonolysis to remove PI domains, thus resulting in a porous gyroidal
polymer template. Applying an electric potential to the transparent conductive
substrate led to gold precipitation in the porous template film on the substrate.
This approach was quite successful due to metal growth from the bottom of the
nanoporous film to the top. The blockage of nanopores from large metal particles is
less prominent here than from conformal metal deposition. However, the approach
requires an ordered thin porous template on a conductive substrate. Thus, fabrication of thick materials is rather challenging.
Instead of electrodeposition, catalytic reduction of metal ions (i.e., electroless
deposition) can be used for metal deposition on nanoporous templates. The Ho group
at the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan successfully deposited nickel on a
porous gyroidal template using electroless deposition [56]. The electroless deposition
strategy is advantageous in that metals can be deposited on nonconductive substrates.
However, since nanopores are very small and easily clogged by large metal particles,
complete filling of the nanopores remains challenging.
In this section, we have outlined fabrication of different classes of nanostructured materials via BCP SA. We expect that the scope of these methods will
be broadened even further in the future. The resulting nanostructured materials
may provide advanced material properties for applications that cannot be attained
from conventional materials. In the next section, we summarize several efforts
directed towards the application of BCP-directed nanostructured hybrid materials.
6 Application of Block Copolymer Self-Assembly-Directed
Materials
Materials research is essential for the improvement of existing technologies as well as
the discovery of entirely novel technologies in many areas, including electronics,
photonics, energy conversion and storage, and even medicine. Many challenges in
modern science and technology could be addressed with better, “smarter” functional
materials. The introduction of nanostructured materials in various application areas
has seen tremendous emphasis in recent years. For example, in the area of energy
conversion and storage nanostructured materials can substantially increase interfacial
areas and shorten diffusion pathways over conventional (i.e., micron-scale)
analogues, leading to better and faster devices. Furthermore, structural characteristics
such as phase symmetry and structural dimensions affect the resulting physical
properties, occasionally leading to new physical phenomena such as size-dependent
optical properties. This section will discuss selected examples of applications that
may benefit from materials with BCP-derived nanostructures. The choices are
entirely personal and do not reflect a comprehensive review of activity levels in the
field. While some work has already shown promising results, in other cases we will
only discuss ideas that are still awaiting experimental realization.
Design and Applications of Multiscale Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Materials. . .
281
followed by ozonolysis to remove PI domains, thus resulting in a porous gyroidal
polymer template. Applying an electric potential to the transparent conductive
substrate led to gold precipitation in the porous template film on the substrate.
This approach was quite successful due to metal growth from the bottom of the
nanoporous film to the top. The blockage of nanopores from large metal particles is
less prominent here than from conformal metal deposition. However, the approach
requires an ordered thin porous template on a conductive substrate. Thus, fabrication of thick materials is rather challenging.
Instead of electrodeposition, catalytic reduction of metal ions (i.e., electroless
deposition) can be used for metal deposition on nanoporous templates. The Ho group
at the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan successfully deposited nickel on a
porous gyroidal template using electroless deposition [56]. The electroless deposition
strategy is advantageous in that metals can be deposited on nonconductive substrates.
However, since nanopores are very small and easily clogged by large metal particles,
complete filling of the nanopores remains challenging.
In this section, we have outlined fabrication of different classes of nanostructured materials via BCP SA. We expect that the scope of these methods will
be broadened even further in the future. The resulting nanostructured materials
may provide advanced material properties for applications that cannot be attained
from conventional materials. In the next section, we summarize several efforts
directed towards the application of BCP-directed nanostructured hybrid materials.
6 Application of Block Copolymer Self-Assembly-Directed
Materials
Materials research is essential for the improvement of existing technologies as well as
the discovery of entirely novel technologies in many areas, including electronics,
photonics, energy conversion and storage, and even medicine. Many challenges in
modern science and technology could be addressed with better, “smarter” functional
materials. The introduction of nanostructured materials in various application areas
has seen tremendous emphasis in recent years. For example, in the area of energy
conversion and storage nanostructured materials can substantially increase interfacial
areas and shorten diffusion pathways over conventional (i.e., micron-scale)
analogues, leading to better and faster devices. Furthermore, structural characteristics
such as phase symmetry and structural dimensions affect the resulting physical
properties, occasionally leading to new physical phenomena such as size-dependent
optical properties. This section will discuss selected examples of applications that
may benefit from materials with BCP-derived nanostructures. The choices are
entirely personal and do not reflect a comprehensive review of activity levels in the
field. While some work has already shown promising results, in other cases we will
only discuss ideas that are still awaiting experimental realization.
Design and Applications of Multiscale Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Materials. . .
281