Formation of Oriented, Suspended Fibers by Melting Free Standing Polystyrene Thin Films

A new approach toward the fabrication of oriented, suspended fibers from the melting of free-standing polymer thin films is presented. Thin films (between 35 and 120 nm) cast via flow coating are melted atop lithographically patterned arrays of pillars to form suspended fibers (from ∼2 to 3 μm in di...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMacromolecules Vol. 42; no. 17; pp. 6716 - 6722
Main Authors Rathfon, Jeremy M, Grolman, Joshua M, Crosby, Alfred J, Tew, Gregory N
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington, DC American Chemical Society 08.09.2009
Subjects
Applied sciences
Exact sciences and technology
Fibers and threads
Forms of application and semi-finished materials
Polymer industry, paints, wood
Technology of polymers
Ultrathin films
Size effect
Synthetic fiber
Styrene polymer
Manufacturing
Growth from melt
Experimental study
Dimension spectrum
Layer thickness
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Summary:A new approach toward the fabrication of oriented, suspended fibers from the melting of free-standing polymer thin films is presented. Thin films (between 35 and 120 nm) cast via flow coating are melted atop lithographically patterned arrays of pillars to form suspended fibers (from ∼2 to 3 μm in diameter) between pillars. The effects of film thickness and pillar spacing on fiber diameter and yield are probed in a combinatorial fashion. A novel image analysis technique for the acquisition of fiber diameter across the multivariable parameter space is also outlined. This thin film melting approach details a new technique toward the fabrication of oriented, suspended micro and nanofiber networks with specific point to point connections in desired architectures.
ISSN:0024-9297
1520-5835
DOI:10.1021/ma901121u