Patterned conjugated polymer ultrathin films via soft lithography

An amino-functionalized poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) was synthesized by palladium-catalyzed Heck coupling reaction. Micropatterned PPV thin films were generated by two non-photolithographic methods based on a combination of micro-contact printing ( muCP) and chemical coupling reactions. The first approach involves the use of patterned reactive self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) as templates for subsequent deposition of amino-substituted PPVs from solution. PPVs have also been directly stamped onto solid substrates. In both methods, PPVs were found to be covalently immobilized onto the supporting surface through the formation of amide bonds. Well-defined PPV micropatterns were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and fluorescence optical microscopy. The interaction between PPVs and the underlying surface was analyzed by grazing-angle reflectance FTIR and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).