Preparation of porous poly(dimethylsiloxane)-based honeycomb materials with hierarchal surface features and their use as soft-lithography templates

Abstract

The formation of porous polymer films with honeycomb morphology on nonflat surfaces was prepared by using a solution containing a CCS polymer based on poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grids were placed on a microscope slide to form an ordered nonflat substrate for the preparation of honeycomb materials, with order originating from both the water droplets as well as the TEM mesh. The new CCS polymer was used for the preparation of macroporous materials with two levels of ordered surface features. Tests on linear PDMS also showed that a highly branched architecture with a high molecular weight was important, as no porous structure was formed from linear PDM..