Effect of nanosized surfactant molecules on the etching of ion tracks: New degrees of freedom in design of pore shape

Abstract

A new method to control the geometry of track-etch nano- and micropores is described. Surfactant molecules added to a solution used for etching out ion tracks, create a steric-hindrance effect which is responsible for the formation of “bottleneck” or “cigar-like” pores. New applications are made possible with these new pore geometries.