EAGER: Dually Photocrosslinkable and Photolabile Polymers for Fabricating Heterogeneous 3D structures

University Of South Florida, Tampa FL

Investigators

Abstract

This EArly-Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) award will fund the development of polymers that are dually photo-crosslinkable and photolabile. A series of functional terpolymers will be synthesized that can be photo-crosslinked at long UV wavelengths and photo-chemically modified at short UV wavelengths. The terpolymers will be synthesized from three types of units: A structural unit, a photo-crosslinkable unit, and an acid unit with a photo-cleavable protecting group. The photo-crosslinking unit permits structural patterning of the polymer, and the photo-cleavable unit permits region-selective development of acidic regions in the pattern. The structural units to be tested include methylmethacrylate, N-isopropylacrylamide, and N,N-dimethylmethacrylamide. The kinetics of polymerization will be studied to establish the controllability of the final composition. Moreover, the efficiency of cross-linking and deprotection will be studied in thin film configurations. If successful, the results of this research will provide polymers that are both structurally definable and photo-addressable. A major goal is to then combine conventional photolithography with assembly-based methods for the heterogeneous integration of nanoparticles into MEMS devices. Through the use of two different wavelengths of light, the photo-crosslinkable and photolabile polymers can be incorporated into MEMS devices and subsequently acid patterned through conventional photolithography. The regions of acidity, in turn, can direct the assembly of nanoparticles from solution to nanomanufacture multi-functional structures and surfaces.