Formation of ceramic microstructures: honeycomb patterned polymer films as structure-directing agent

Here, we show a facile and versatile method preparing highly ordered ceramic microstructures on solid substrates by pyrolyzing UV cross-linked copolymer films to circumvent the expensive lithographic technique. The employed block copolymer, poly(dimethylsiloxane)-block-polystyrene (PDMS-b-PS), in this study was synthesized by controlling radical polymerization. The highly ordered microporous polymer films were formed using a static breath figure process. After 4 h UV irradiation, the PS composition was effectively cross-linked. The cross-linked microporous polymer matrix served as a structure-directing agent in the following pyrolysis process, in which the PDMS composition was converted into silica to form honeycomb structured micropatterns on the substrate. The chemical components of the ceramic microstructures were adjusted by simply mixing different functional precursors. Moreover, the ceramic microstructures on substrate could be replicated to prepare textured PDMS stamps. This simple technique offers new prospects in the fields of micropatterns, soft lithography and templates.