One-step synthesis of patterned polymer brushes by photocatalytic microcontact printing

Abstract

A novel method to prepare microstructured polymer brushes using TiO2 nanoparticles and photocatalytic microcontact printing is described. It is shown that ethanol amine can be polymerized to linear polyethyleneimine (PEI) driven by the photocatalytic action of TiO2. Upon UV irradiation during microcontact printing of ethanol amine with a stamp coated with TiO2 nanoparticles, patterned polymer brushes with a length of around 50 nm are obtained. This journal is