Functional nanostructured polymer-metal interfaces

The study of polymer-metal surfaces is important for basic scientific research as well as many practical applications in aircraft, automobile, biomedical, and electronics industries. The possibility of controlling particle size and particle surface chemistry of metals would help us to understand the fundamental mechanism of polymer-metal adhesion in general. We have recently demonstrated that nanostructured polymers can be fabricated by an oblique-angle polymerization method. These structures have a high aspect ratio and the production technique does not require any template or lithography method or a surfactant for deposition. We studied influences of the chemical functionality, morphology, and topology of the nanostructured films on the physical properties of metallic-polymer interfaces. Based on the nanostructured polymer mediated metal technology, we can develop novel polymer-metal interfaces with the following attributes: (1) high surface area materials with controlled roughness, (2) light weight and high adhesion strength of polymer to metal, and (3) industrial-scale deposition.