Polymer blend lithography: A versatile method to fabricate nanopatterned self-assembled monolayers

• Cheng Huang,
• Markus Moosmann,
• Jiehong Jin,
• Tobias Heiler,
• Stefan Walheim and
• Thomas Schimmel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 620–628, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.71

• and conditions, including the ambient atmosphere (humidity), the molar mass of the polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and the mass ratio between the two polymers in the blend solution, the formation of a purely lateral morphology (PS islands standing on the substrate while isolated

• in the PMMA matrix) can be reproducibly induced. Either of the formed phases (PS or PMMA) can be selectively dissolved afterwards, and the remaining phase can be used as a lift-off mask for the formation of a nanopatterned functional silane monolayer. This “monolayer copy” of the polymer phase

• [62]. Water droplets are introduced into the polymer solution film and leave behind holes after the film has solidified. These breath figure structures can be found both in films of one-polymer systems, such as PMMA in THF, and of polymer-blend systems. In this article we present a method to obtain a

Nano-FTIR chemical mapping of minerals in biological materials

• Sergiu Amarie,
• Paul Zaslansky,
• Yusuke Kajihara,
• Erika Griesshaber,
• Wolfgang W. Schmahl and
• Fritz Keilmann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 312–323, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.35

• surrounded by 1 to 2 µm thick mineralized sheaths devoid of collagen. Tubules of teeth are known to branch into nano-tubuli [38] and are easily observed on perpendicularly cut sections. Figure 7 shows a 10 × 10 µm2 area surrounding a typical tubule (filled with PMMA, see methods) inside the tooth

• surrounding dentin matrix. Outside the peritubular ring, the upper-right quadrant of the BE image exhibits two low-density spots with about 100 nm diameter designating nanotubuli. They appear clearly in the infrared images as spots of about 1 µm in diameter with an amplitude between the low one of PMMA

• the five locations (see Discussion section, Figure 12a). The PMMA amplitude spectrum shows a relatively weak resonance around 1160 cm−1. The nano-FTIR spectra (Figure 9) recorded along 110 pixels of 10 µm long trajectories (marked in Figure 7) demonstrate the excellent reproducibility of the method

Surface functionalization of aluminosilicate nanotubes with organic molecules

• Wei Ma,
• Weng On Yah,
• Hideyuki Otsuka and
• Atsushi Takahara

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 82–100, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.10

• to free-radical polymerization [39]. Free-radical polymerization is preferable to ionic processes on economic grounds, because it is easier to perform and much less sensitive to the presence of water. Recently, we reported the grafting of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) on the imogolite surface, in

• interest due to its convenience, e.g., it can be carried out without strict deoxygenation and only needs ppm levels of catalyst [41][42]. Figure 10 presents the preparation procedure of a PMMA grafted imogolite nanotube. To realize polymerization of MMA from the surface of imogolite nanotubes, a suitable

• of this heterogeneous redox process is beneficial for building up a necessary equilibrium between the activator (Cu(I) complex) and deactivator (Cu(II) complex). Polymeric products were isolated by precipitation from methanol. GPC data showed that grafted PMMA with molecular weights of Mn = 26600 and

Mechanical characterization of carbon nanomembranes from self-assembled monolayers

• Xianghui Zhang,
• André Beyer and
• Armin Gölzhäuser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 826–833, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.92

• membranes on a window-structured silicon substrate (Silson Ltd., UK) in hydrofluoric acid (HF, ~48%). For BPT and NBPT CNMs, the samples were spin-coated with a layer of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) for stabilization and baked on a hotplate. The sample was immersed into HF (~48%) for 20 min to weaken

• the adhesion between the gold and the mica. The separation of the PMMA/CNM/Au layer from the mica was achieved by careful dipping of the sample into water. Subsequently, the Au layer was completely etched by a gold etchant (5 wt % I2 and 10 wt % KI in water). Afterwards, the CNM/PMMA layer was

• transferred to a silicon substrate with window-structured openings (Silson Ltd., UK), which was followed by dissolution of the PMMA in acetone and drying with a critical-point dryer (Autosamdri-815B, Tousimis, USA) to yield clean and suspended CNMs. The mechanical characterization was carried out by means of

Template-assisted formation of microsized nanocrystalline CeO₂ tubes and their catalytic performance in the carboxylation of methanol

• Jörg J. Schneider,
• Meike Naumann,
• Christian Schäfer,
• Armin Brandner,
• Heiko J. Hofmann and
• Peter Claus

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 776–784, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.86

• Chemistry II, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Petersenstr. 20, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany 10.3762/bjnano.2.86 Abstract Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)/ceria composite fibres were synthesized by using a sequential combination of polymer electrospinning, spray-coating with a sol, and a final calcination step

• to yield microstructured ceria tubes, which are composed of nanocrystalline ceria particles. The PMMA template is removed from the organic/inorganic hybrid material by radio frequency (rf) plasma etching followed by calcination of the ceramic green-body fibres. Microsized ceria (CeO2) tubes, with a

• vertical electrode arrangement. The polymer solution was 15 wt % PMMA dissolved in a mixture of acetone and dimethyl formamide (60/40), which was electrospun at 26 kV through a nozzle with dimensions of 0.8 × 4.0 mm and a current flow of 4 μA was achieved. The electrospun polymer template has an average

Investigation on structural, thermal, optical and sensing properties of meta-stable hexagonal MoO₃ nanocrystals of one dimensional structure

• Angamuthuraj Chithambararaj and
• Arumugam Chandra Bose

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 585–592, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.62

• range from 200 to 2000 nm) and a miniature fiber optics spectrometer (EPP-2000, StellarNet Inc, USA) having a spectral range of 100 to 1100 nm. Poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) based multimode plastic step index fiber (length 100 cm, diameter 700 µm and numerical aperture 0.51) with cleaved ends was used

Towards multiple readout application of plasmonic arrays

• Dana Cialla,
• Karina Weber,
• René Böhme,
• Uwe Hübner,
• Henrik Schneidewind,
• Matthias Zeisberger,
• Roland Mattheis,
• Robert Möller and
• Jürgen Popp

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 501–508, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.54

• , followed by spin-coating of a 120 nm thick PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) resist layer onto the metal film. The resist layer was exposed by a commercial e-beam writer (LION LV-1, Vistec Electron Beam GmbH) operating at 20 keV. After the development in organic solvents (60 s in MIBK:IPA = 1:1 solution), the

Platinum nanoparticles from size adjusted functional colloidal particles generated by a seeded emulsion polymerization process

• Nicolas Vogel,
• Ulrich Ziener,
• Achim Manzke,
• Alfred Plettl,
• Paul Ziemann,
• Johannes Biskupek,
• Clemens K. Weiss and
• Katharina Landfester

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 459–472, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.50

• of the colloid and its value in the saturated state after etching, one arrives at an equivalent Pt layer thickness of around 3 to 4 Å (Pt lattice parameter aPt = 3.92 Å). A similar result was obtained for Pt-precursor loaded polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) particles [35]. This suggests that the

• . Nevertheless, it was possible to exclude agglomerates of Pt precursors inside or on the surface of the colloids. It is worth mentioning, that Pt precursor loaded PMMA particles show similar etching-induced saturation behaviour as for loaded PS particles. In both cases, a homogenous diffusion of the Pt

Infrared receptors in pyrophilous (“fire loving”) insects as model for new un-cooled infrared sensors

• David Klocke,
• Anke Schmitz,
• Helmut Soltner,
• Herbert Bousack and
• Helmut Schmitz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 186–197, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.22

• ). Indentation tests were performed by using a three-sided Berkovich diamond tip with a total included angle of 142.3°. A proper area function was established by indenting in a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) test specimen with known hardness and modulus. Contact depths range from 250 to 1100 nm. The maximum

Microfluidic anodization of aluminum films for the fabrication of nanoporous lipid bilayer support structures

• Jaydeep Bhattacharya,
• Alexandre Kisner,
• Andreas Offenhäusser and
• Bernhard Wolfrum

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 104–109, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.12

• on an aperture released silicon support structure [21], was inserted into a PMMA dual-line flow cell. Oxalic acid (0.3 M) was injected into one of the inlets via pressure controlled flow (Fluigent, MFCS 4C, France) and contacted the exposed aluminum substrate in a localized area of 0.2 mm2. The

Single-pass Kelvin force microscopy and dC/dZ measurements in the intermittent contact: applications to polymer materials

• Sergei Magonov and
• John Alexander

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 15–27, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.2

• , and a shiny surface of the alloy sheet was examined by AFM. Polymer films were prepared by the spin-casting of a droplet of a dilute solution of the polymer on the substrates. Thin films of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and polymer blends PMMA with polystyrene (PS) and PS with poly(vinyl acetate

• ) (PVAC) were prepared from their solutions in toluene. A thin film of a blend of PMMA with poly(vinyledenefluoride) (PVDF) blend was spin cast from its solution in 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone. The polymers with molecular weights in the 100–150 K range, solvents and ITO glass substrates were purchased from

• thin film of a PMMA and PVDF blend. The relation between the polymer morphology and material performance is the key question for polymer technology that reinforces the importance of compositional imaging. The film was prepared by spin-casting of PMMA and PVDF solutions, and the blend was formed during

Fabrication and spectroscopic studies on highly luminescent CdSe/CdS nanorod polymer composites

• Jana Bomm,
• Andreas Büchtemann,
• Angela Fiore,
• Liberato Manna,
• James H. Nelson,
• Diana Hill and
• Wilfried G. J. H. M. van Sark

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2010, 1, 94–100, doi:10.3762/bjnano.1.11

• in poly(lauryl methacrylate) (PLMA) [6][8], while Woelfle and Claus dispersed CdSe/ZnS QDs in an ionic liquid that was compatible with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) [6]. However, in both these cases chemical attack of QDs by initiator radicals produced from azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) during the

Enhanced visible light photocatalysis through fast crystallization of zinc oxide nanorods

• Sunandan Baruah,
• Mohammad Abbas Mahmood,
• Myo Tay Zar Myint,
• Tanujjal Bora and
• Joydeep Dutta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2010, 1, 14–20, doi:10.3762/bjnano.1.3

• , methylene blue, which is a heterocyclic aromatic compound, in aqueous solution. Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue [C16H18N3SCl] (MB) results in the formation of leuco-methylene blue (LMB). A 10 μM solution of MB was prepared in deionised water and put in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) cuvettes