Patterned polymer brushes grafted from bromine-functionatized, chemically active surface templates

A feasibility study to create patterned polymer brushes to prove the chemical structure of the grown polymers, grafted from bromine-functionalized, chemically active surface templates was investigated. A patterning technique was used that utilized an electrochemical-oxidation process to generate local carboxylic acid functions on an n-octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS)-coated silicon wafer. The study of model systems was found to be of restricted use as the growth mechanism of polymer brushes depends on the quality of the initiator layer. The grafting process produces a contrast in the optical image that resembles the bar structure of the initial surface pattern. Grafting polymer films from chemically active surface templates fabricated by electro-oxidative lithography provides a convenient and powerful way of patterning a polymer onto the surface. The combination of different modification schemes represents the possibility for the step-by-step assembly of more complex features.