Resist-free micropatterning of binary polymer brushes on Si(100) via surface-initiated living radical polymerizations

Abstract

Binary polymer brushes were micropatterned, with the aid of a photomask and in the absence of any microlithographic resist, on Si(100) via consecutive surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and reversible addition–fragmentation chain-transfer polymerization (RAFTP). The ATRP initiator was first micropatterned onto the hydrogen-terminated Si(100) surface via UV-induced hydrosilylation through a photomask. The azo initiator for RAFTP was coupled to the unhydrosilylated and re-oxidized microdomains. The orthogonal surface chemistries, that resulted after the single photochemical reaction step, allowed the spatially controlled immobilization of binary polymer brushes on an oriented single crystal silicon surface.