Block copolymer self-assembly derived mesoporous network structures are combined with non-equilibrium transient laser annealing to serve as nanotemplates for directing structures of inorganic materials, which otherwise are difficult to achieve good ordering on the mesoscale. Organic amphiphilic block copolymers swelled by carbon precursor additives undergo self-assembly and form an equilibrium bicontinuous mesophase called gyroids via solvent vapor annealing. After carbonization in inert atmosphere, the resulting mesoporous carbon thin films with well-defined gyroidal structures are backfilled with amorphous silicon (a-Si) through chemical vapor deposition. The poor tolerance of carbon toward high temperature in air and the high melting points of inorganic materials such as Si present a seemingly insurmountable challenge in preparing crystalline inorganic materials with well-ordered mesostructures in the carbon templates. The stability of the carbon templates is significantly enhanced, however, when employing nanosecond pulsed laser heating. Melting and recrystallization of Si (melting point of a-Si around 1250 °C) during this ultrafast, highly non-equilibrium process allow conformal template back filling so that the polycrystalline silicon inherits the mesostructural order of the 3D carbon templates. Such non-equilibrium nanostructure formation approaches in conjunction with equilibrium self-assembly process open up opportunities for fabricating novel metamaterials such as mesostructured metals and semiconductors, which are potential candidates for plasmonic, catalytic and photonic applications.

Non-equilibrium laser annealing derived mesostructured silicon templated in mesoporous thin film network structures from block copolymer self-assembly

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.