Towards hierarchically ordered functional porous polymeric surfaces prepared by the breath figures approach

This article reviews the approaches developed to prepare and characterize porous structured materials by using the breath figures (BF) methodology. In particular, we have analyzed the topographical modifications of the surface that can be tuned with this approach, such as the control of the pore characteristics, changes in the pore morphology or use of non-planar substrates to create the porous materials among others. We have also given special attention to the functionality inside of the pores and how this can be created by using different kinds of polymers, from homopolymers to hybrid materials, as well as by changing the pore functionally after chemical modification. The approaches followed to obtain hierarchical structures, for example, by combination of the BF approach and nanostructure formation within the pores or by using soft-lithography have also been examined. In addition, we discuss the feasibility of obtaining stimuli-responsive honeycomb structured surfaces. The potential applications in different areas such as biomedicine, optics and so on, are also pointed out. Finally, we comment on some future perspectives of breath figures approach. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.