Linear and four-arm star polystyrene samples prepared by RAFT polymerization were grafted to gold surfaces directly via their thiocarbonylthio-end groups. Nanoscale polymer patterns were subsequently formed via constrained dewetting. The patterned polymer films then served as a template for the precise arrangement of gold nanoparticles in a monolayer with a well-defined and regular structure. Using star polymers as a linker between the planar gold surface and the particles, the structural stability of the arranged particles can be further enhanced. The surface-bound nanocomposite films made of polymer and nanoparticles can also reversibly switch their nanostructures by simple wetting or dewetting treatment.
Synthetic polymers on surfaces are excellent models to mimic biological systems which are highly sophisticated in their responsive behaviour to environmental changes. To expand the application possibilities of smart polymer surfaces as modern devices like sensors, microfluidic channels or even next-generation computer chips, the development of new surface analyzing techniques is required. In the context of this thesis, tethered polymers were synthesized and comprehensively analyzed using metal induced energy transfer (MIET) to establish this technique in polymeric surface science. With the gained insight of surface-tethered polymers, the generation of nanostructures mediated by constrained dewetting of homopolymers was investigated.
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