Imparting Superhydrophobicity with a Hierarchical Block Copolymer Coating

A robust and transparent silica‐like coating that imparts superhydrophobicity to a surface through its hierarchical multilevel self‐assembled structure is demonstrated. This approach involves iterative steps of spin‐coating, annealing, and etching of polystyrene‐block‐polydimethylsiloxane block copolymer thin films to form a tailored multilayer nanoscale topographic pattern with a water contact angle up to 155°. A model based on the hierarchical topography is developed to calculate the wetting angle and optimize the superhydrophobicity, in agreement with the experimental trends, and explaining superhydrophobicity arising through the combination of roughness at different lengthscales. Additionally, the mechanical robustness and optically passive properties of the resulting hydrophobic surfaces are demonstrated.     

通过嵌段共聚物自组装制备哑铃状Au-Fe304纳米粒子排列

通过嵌段共聚物自组装制备哑铃型Au-Fe3O4纳米粒子排列,先通过旋涂含有哑铃型纳米粒子（DBNPs）的聚苯乙烯-b-聚（2-乙烯基吡啶）（PS—b—P2VP）混合溶液得到复合薄膜,再将复合薄膜在高温下退火,实验发现,无论是预先合成的表面带有油酸基团,还是11-巯基十-烷酸修饰的哑铃型纳米粒子,都可以选择性的进入到PS—b—P2VP嵌段共聚物中的P2VP柱状微区中。实验结果表明,在退火过程中,哑铃型纳米粒子可以进入到嵌段共聚物中的一个微区中,并不取决于其表面的化学性质。     

Hierarchical 3D SERS Substrates Fabricated by Integrating Photolithographic Microstructures and Self‐Assembly of Silver Nanoparticles

Most of the surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates are 2D planar systems, which limits the SERS active area to a single Cartesian plane. Here, we fabricate 3D SERS substrates with the aim to break the traditional 2D SERS active area limitation, and to extend the SERS hotspots into the third dimension along the z‐axis. Our 3D SERS substrates are tailored with increased SERS hotspots in the z‐direction from tens of nanometers to tens of micrometers, increasing the hotspots in the z‐direction by at least an order of magnitude larger than the confocal volume (～1 μm) of most Raman spectrometers. Various hierarchical 3D SERS‐active microstructures are fabricated by combining 3D laser photolithography with Langmuir‐Blodgett nanoparticle assembly. 3D laser photolithography creates microstructured platforms required to extend the SERS‐active area into 3D, and the self‐assembly of Ag nanoparticles ensures homogeneous coating of SERS‐active Ag nanoparticles over the entire microstructured platforms. Large‐area 3D Raman imaging demonstrates that homogeneous signals can be collected throughout the entire 3D SERS substrates. We vary the morphology, height, and inclination angles of the 3D microstructures, where the inclination angle is found to exhibit strong influence on the SERS signals. We also demonstrate a potential application of this hierarchical 3D SERS substrate in information tagging, storage and encryption as SERS micro‐barcodes, where multiple micro‐barcodes can be created within a single set of microstructures.     

嵌段共聚物PS-b-PMMA在PCHMA/PMMA共混体系中增容效果的研究:嵌段比、分子量及粘度的影响

采用熔融共混方式,利用两嵌段共聚物聚苯乙烯-b-聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(PS-b-PMMA)来增容聚甲基丙烯酸环己酯(PCHMA)/聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(PMMA)共混体系,主要研究PS-b-PMMA嵌段比、均聚物的分子量以及体系粘度对增容效果的影响。研究发现,非对称结构的嵌段共聚物较对称结构的嵌段共聚物更容易在体相形成胶束,胶束的形成减少了嵌段共聚物在界面的利用率。均聚物分子量增大,嵌段共聚物的胶束均增加。分散相分子量增大,造成了界面的嵌段共聚物稳定性减弱,容易扩散至分散相内部,形成胶束。连续相分子量增大致使链段溶胀力减小,嵌段共聚物胶束外围的乳化效果降低,而且连续相粘度增大,使得嵌段共聚物胶束滞留在连续相,难以迁移至界面。共混体系的混合剪切增加,粘度变小,嵌段共聚物的扩散速率加快。通过调控均聚物分子量和体系粘度,能有效地减少体相胶束的形成,增大嵌段共聚物在界面的利用率。通过Leibler干湿刷理论、焓驱溶胀聚合物刷以及Stokes-Einstein扩散理论可以解释相关的结论。     

Lattice Deformation and Domain Distortion in the Self‐Assembly of Block Copolymer Thin Films on Chemical Patterns

The self‐assembly of cylinder‐forming block copolymer (BCP) microdomains confined within chemical stripe patterns of widths incommensurate with the natural period of the copolymers, L₀, is studied. It is shown that this incommensurability causes changes in both the shapes of the microdomains and their spatial period. Specifically, a transition from n to n + 1 rows of microdomains is observed when the stripe width is about n ± 1/2 L₀. When the stripe's width is comparable to L₀, ellipticity of microdomains can be induced with an aspect ratio up to 2.2. Free energy models are applied to describe the energetic origin of such behavior. Although our observations qualitatively resemble results in sphere‐forming BCPs confined in topographical trenches, the quantitative difference is noteworthy and technologically important for the design of nanostructures with programmable shapes.     

Large‐Area 3D Hierarchical Superstructures Assembled from Colloidal Nanoparticles

Assembling nanosized building blocks into macroscopic 3D complex structures is challenging. Here, nanosized metal and semiconductor building blocks with a variety of sizes and shapes (spheres, stars, and rods) are successfully assembled into a broad range of hierarchical (nanometer to micrometer) assemblies of functional materials in centimeter size using butterfly wings as templates. This is achieved by the introduction of steric hindrance to the assembly process, which compensates for attraction from the environmentally sensitive hydrogen bonds and prevents the aggregation of nanosized building blocks. Of these materials, Au nanostar assemblies show a superior enhancement in surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) performance (rhodamine 6G, 1506 cm^?1) under 532, 633, and 780 nm excitation—this is 3.1–4.4, 3.6–3.9, and 2.9–47.3 folds surpassing Au nanosphere assemblies and commercial SERS substrates (Q‐SERS), respectively. This method provides a versatile route for the assembly of various nanosized building blocks into different 3D superstructures and for the construction of hybrid nanomaterials and nanocomposites.     

基于UV油墨的3D地形图呈现

根据地形图的特点及UV油墨快速干燥的特性,提出一种运用3D建模和分层设色的方法,并通过实验,完成了中国台湾省主岛部分3D地形图的打印.选择台湾省主岛部分等高线图,在图形处理软件中,根据其高程,提取多幅等高线矢量图;根据墨层厚度与打印层数的定量关系,得到实际海拔高度与打印层数的对应关系,再根据等高线分层设色原理,设计分层设色对应表,并设定适当的比例尺,确定打印方案;使用喷墨打印机,打印得到具有一定立体感的3D彩色地形图.实验结果表明：根据UV油墨快速干燥的特点,使用UV喷墨打印机,可以打印得到具有立体效果的3D彩色地形图.     

不同共混方式下非对称嵌段共聚物PS-b-PMMA对PCHMA/PMMA体系增容效果的研究:界面与胶束的竞争

采用熔融共混方式,利用非对称两嵌段共聚物聚苯乙烯-b-聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(PS-b-PMMA)对聚甲基丙烯酸环己酯(PCHMA)/聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(PMMA)共混体系进行增容。重点研究了嵌段比、共混方式以及分散相PMMA分子量对共混体系中非对称嵌段共聚物分布的影响,即嵌段共聚物稳定相界面与所形成胶束数量、位置之间的竞争关系。结果表明,在低分子量PMMA情况下共混方式对非对称嵌段共聚物的分布影响显著,改变共混方式可以有效减少分散相中的胶束数量,使嵌段共聚物主要分布在二元不相容增容体系两相界面。另一方面,增大PMMA分子量会改变非对称嵌段共聚物在两相界面的界面曲率,导致其在分散相中的溶解性增大,在界面上的稳定性减小,从而迁移至分散相内部并最终形成胶束。     

A Hierarchical 3D Nanostructured Microfluidic Device for Sensitive Detection of Pathogenic Bacteria

Efficient capture and rapid detection of pathogenic bacteria from body fluids lead to early diagnostics of bacterial infections and significantly enhance the survival rate. We propose a universal nano/microfluidic device integrated with a 3D nanostructured detection platform for sensitive and quantifiable detection of pathogenic bacteria. Surface characterization of the nanostructured detection platform confirms a uniform distribution of hierarchical 3D nano‐/microisland (NMI) structures with spatial orientation and nanorough protrusions. The hierarchical 3D NMI is the unique characteristic of the integrated device, which enables enhanced capture and quantifiable detection of bacteria via both a probe‐free and immunoaffinity detection method. As a proof of principle, we demonstrate probe‐free capture of pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) and immunocapture of methicillin‐resistant‐Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Our device demonstrates a linear range between 50 and 10⁴ CFU mL^?1, with average efficiency of 93% and 85% for probe‐free detection of E. coli and immunoaffinity detection of MRSA, respectively. It is successfully demonstrated that the spatial orientation of 3D NMIs contributes in quantifiable detection of fluorescently labeled bacteria, while the nanorough protrusions contribute in probe‐free capture of bacteria. The ease of fabrication, integration, and implementation can inspire future point‐of‐care devices based on nanomaterial interfaces for sensitive and high‐throughput optical detection.     

Hierarchical Organization of Structurally Colored Cholesteric Phases of Cellulose via 3D Printing

Structural color—a widespread phenomenon observed throughout nature is caused by light interference from ordered phases of matter. While state-of-the-art nanofabrication techniques can produce structural organization in small areas, cost-effective and scalable techniques are still lacking to generate tunable color at sub-micron length scales. In this work, structurally colored hydroxypropyl cellulose filaments are produced with a suppressed angular color response by 3D printing. The systematic study of the morphology of the filaments reveals the key stages in the induction of a two-degree hierarchical order through 3D printing. The first degree of order originated from the changing of the cholesteric pitch at a few hundred nm scale via chemical modification and tuning of the solid content of the lyotropic phase. Upon 3D printing, the secondary hierarchical order of periodic wrinkling is introduced through the Helfrich–Hurault deformation of the shear-aligned cholesteric phases. In single-layered filaments, four morphological zones with varying orders of wrinkles are identified. Detailed morphological characterization is carried out using SEM to shed light on the mechanism of the wrinkling behavior. Through this work, the possibility of modifying the wrinkling behavior is demonstrated and thus the angle dependence of the color response by changing the printing conditions.