Spontaneous wrinkling in azlactone-based functional polymer thin films in 2D and 3D geometries for guided nanopatterning

We report a simple, one step process for developing wrinkling patterns in azlactone-based polymer thin films and brushes on 2D and 3D surfaces. The polymer used in this work wrinkles spontaneously upon deposition and solidification on a substrate without applying any external strain to the substrate, with the mode of deposition defining the direction of the wrinkles. Wrinkle formation is shown to occur on a variety of substrates over large areas. We also find that a very thin brush-like layer of an azlactone-containing block copolymer also exhibits wrinkled topology. Given the spontaneity and versatility of wrinkle formation, we further demonstrate two proofs-of-concept, (i) that these periodic wrinkled structures are not limited to planar surfaces, but are also developed in complex geometries including tubes, cones and other 3D structures; and (ii) that this one step wrinkling process can be used to guide the deposition of metal nanoparticles and quantum dots, creating a periodic, nanopatterned film.