Free Standing Porous Composite Films and Membranes Obtained Through Substrate-guided Assembly

Abstract Development of directed-self-assembly methods for composite nanomaterials is required for supporting the emergence and technological transfer of nanosciences. A new approach is proposed for inducing organized micron-sized pores in Ag+-doped PMMA composite films and membranes by topologically guided assembly on rough aluminum substrate’s grains during thermal annealing. The polymer-Ag+ porous thin film was obtained by spin coating of complex solution of poly(methyl methacrylate)/CF3COOAg on aluminium foil followed by thermal annealing at 85 °C. The film was reduced by UV irradiation to give a polymer-Ag film/membrane without distortion of the morphology.