Two-Photon Laser Microprinting of Highly Ordered Nanoporous Materials Based on Hexagonal Columnar Liquid Crystals

Nanoporous materials relying on supramolecular liquid crystals (LCs) are excellent candidates for size- and charge-selective membranes. However, whether they can be manufactured using printing technologies remained unexplored so far. In this work, we develop a new approach for the fabrication of ordered nanoporous microstructures based on supramolecular LCs using two-photon laser printing. In particular, we employ photo-cross-linkable hydrogen-bonded complexes, that self-assemble into columnar hexagonal (Col(h)) mesophases, as the base of our printable photoresist. The presence of photopolymerizable groups in the periphery of the molecules enables the printability using a laser. We demonstrate the conservation of the Col(h) arrangement and of the adsorptive properties of the materials after laser microprinting, which highlights the potential of the approach for the fabrication of functional nanoporous structures with a defined geometry. This first example of printable Col(h) LC should open new opportunities for the fabrication of functional porous microdevices with potential application in catalysis, filtration, separation, or molecular recognition.

Automated summary

This research develops a new approach for the fabrication of ordered nanoporous microstructures based on supramolecular liquid crystals using two-photon laser printing. The presence of photopolymerizable groups enables the printability of the materials. The study demonstrates the conservation of the materials' arrangement and adsorptive properties after laser microprinting, showing the potential of this approach for functional nanoporous structure fabrication.