Covalent immobilization of polypropylene thin films

This article describes a simple and versatile approach to the covalent attachment of ultrathin polypropylene films on silicon wafers. The immobilization was accomplished by way of the C-H insertion reaction of perfluorophenyl nitrenes generated by thermolysis or photolysis of perfluorophenyl azides. Covalently immobilized thin films of crystalline and amorphous polypropylene and an elastomeric copolymer of polypropylene were successfully fabricated. Patterned polypropylene films were also delineated.