Rw. Zehner et al., SELECTIVE DECORATION OF A PHASE-SEPARATED DIBLOCK COPOLYMER WITH THIOL-PASSIVATED GOLD NANOCRYSTALS, Langmuir, 14(2), 1998, pp. 241-244
Nanocrystalline gold particles passivated with alkane- and arenethiols
were deposited on microphase-separated ultrathin films of poly(styren
e-block-methyl methacrylate). The nanocrystals preferentially adsorbed
to the polystyrene phases over areas of the substrate as large as 10
mu m(2), as seen by transmission electron microscopy. The basis for th
e separation is postulated to be the difference in interaction energie
s between the thiol passivants and the two polymers. The resulting pat
terns of nanocrystals are more than an order of magnitude smaller than
features which can be produced by optical lithography.