Stability of functional polymers after plasticizer-assisted imprint lithography

Abstract

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and chitosan structures on Si, patterned by plasticizer-assisted imprint lithography (PAIL), are examined under a variety of imprinting conditions. The stabilities of pattern dimension and chemical functionality of these polymers are presented. Thermal annealing for 5min at 80°C is found to be an effective method to stabilize imprinted PEDOT patterns. Biofunctionality in chitosan as a function of imprint temperature and pressure is examined through fluorescence spectroscopy. The accessibility of the amine group of chitosan is observed to decrease for imprint temperatures above 80°C, whereas the chemical functionality is not affected by pressure up to 1MPa. Fluorescence spectra of the chitosan are observed to be strong functions of exposure time to O2 plasma.