Controlled micropatterning of a Si(100) surface by combined nitroxide-mediated and atom transfer radical polymerizations

Abstract

The micropatterning of different polymer brushes, as well as their diblock copolymer brushes on a Si (100) surface using alternating nitroxide-mediated radical polymerization (NMRP) and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) was analyzed. The ATRP initiators were covalently immobilized using robust Si-C bonds in the H-terminated silicon microdomains. The NMRP initiators were coupled to the oxide-covered microdomains of the resist-patterned silicon surface. The results show that the C-Cl bond in the ATRP initiator was relatively stable and did not act as a chain transfer agent during NMRP.