Fabrication of Zinc Oxide Nanowires/Polymer Composites by Two-Photon Polymerization

We present an approach to fabricate ZnO nanowires/polymer composite into three-dimensional microstructures, based on two-photon polymerization direct laser writing, a fabrication method that allows submicrometric spatial resolution. The structural integrity of the structures was inferred by scanning electron microscopy, while the presence and distribution of ZnO nanowires was investigated by energy dispersive X-ray, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The optical properties of the produced composite microstructures were verified by imaging the characteristic ZnO emission using a fluorescence microscope. Hence, such approach can be used to develop composite microstructures containing ZnO nanowires aiming at technological applications. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci. Part B: Polym. Phys. 2014, 52, 333-337