Guiding polymers to perfection: Macroscopic alignment of nanoscale domains

Nanoscale diblock copolymer domains are aligned via top-down/bottom-up hierarchical assembly. Grating substrates template cylinder alignment with demonstrated 5000:1 aspect ratio for 100 mum domains extendable to arbitrary length scales. Depending on trough depth and amount of deposited polymer, aligned domains are (1) confined to the channels or (2) expanded across the grating frequently with (3) a complete absence of defects. This methodology can be exploited in hybrid hard/soft matter systems for electronics, catalysis, and sensors.