Abstract
Microstructured thin films based on cellulose, the most abundant biopolymer on Earth, have been obtained by UV-irradiation of acid-labile trimethylsilyl cellulose thin films in the presence of N-hydroxynaphtalimide triflate as photoacid generator. We demonstrate that this photoregeneration process can be exploited for the manufacture of cellulose patterns having feature sizes down to 1 μm, with potential applications in life sciences.
Highlights
Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on Earth, offering a variety of properties that can be hardly found in any other single material [1]
photoacid generators (PAG) generate an acid upon exposure to UV light and the formed acid induces either crosslinking or cleaves acid labile bonds in a polymer resulting in a different solubility behavior of the polymer
We added 2 wt % of N-hydroxynaphtalimide triflate (NHT) to TMSC dissolved in chloroform (1 wt %)
Summary
Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on Earth, offering a variety of properties that can be hardly found in any other single material [1]. Note that the actual DSSi of the TMSC used was 2.8 This concept has been adapted by Kontturi et al who introduced the spin-coating procedure for the preparation of such films allowing for a fast and highly reproducible manufacturing process with tailored film properties [7]. A large scale production of these materials is per se unlikely, limiting the applicability of the already described approaches The idea of this communication is to introduce the use of light to regenerate cellulose (“photoregeneration”) at the example of ultrathin cellulose supports. We apply a concept from semiconductor industry where photoacid generators (PAG) are widely used to alter materials’ properties
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
