Selective gold deposition on a nanostructured block copolymer film crystallized by epitaxy

An ordered nanostructure formed by epitaxial crystallization of a semicrystalline block copolymer on a substrate has been used as a patterned template for the selective deposition of thermally evaporated gold nanoparticles, resulting in the formation of structure-guiding host nanocomposites in which the ordered distribution of the guest particles is guided by the ordering of the host nanostructured block copolymer matrix. This opens new perspectives in the field of polymeric composites related to the maximum enhancement of effective physical properties and to the numerous possible applications that arise due to the presence of long-range order in the spatial distribution of functional nanoparticles. Open image in new window