Micropatterning from drying micelle solution of diblock copolymers: strap-structure, quadrate farmland-structure and biomimetic structure

Micropatterns of strap and farmland structures of polystyrene-block-poly(acrylic acid) (PS-b-PAA) copolymer were obtained by drying the micelle solutions. The drying process of the solution was monitored by dynamic optical microscopy (OM) with a digital video camera. The surface structure of the micelle aggregations was studied by OM, scanning electron microscopy and Alpha-Step 200 profiler system. It is believed that solvent evaporation and micelle migration account for the observed micelle micropatterns. The potential application of the micropatterns is also addressed.