Micropatterning of plastic nanocomposite films: Effect of Au nanoparticle content

The fabrication of hierarchical architectures of colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) represents an increasingly relevant approach to obtain innovative mesoscale materials, thanks to the original size-dependent characteristics of the nanosized building blocks, as well as, the collective properties arising from their organization. Here, an unconventional patterning method, based on formation of "breath figures" (BF), has been used to fabricate highly ordered honeycomb structures in nanocomposite materials, obtained by blending pre-synthesized colloidal gold NPs (Au NPs) in a polymeric matrix. The cast nanocomposite solutions have successfully allowed the fabrication of highly regular microporous self standing films. Large scale iridescent and ordered micropatterns with an hexagonal symmetry have been prepared and the fundamental role of NPs in stabilizing the templating water droplets in BF formation has been demonstrated. The resulting structured arrays of NP decorated pores can have a great potential as efficient catalysts for chemical reactions, as well as, templates for fabrication of photonic and optoelectronic devices, sensors and membranes for separation and purification purposes. © 2014 by American Scientific Publishers.