Directing the self-assembly of mesostructured hybrid materials: Effect of polymer concentration and solvent type

Herein we explore the possibility to control the fabrication of non-equilibrium nano-patterns of spin-coated organic-inorganic hybrid materials based on diblock copolymers and metal nanoparticles in thin films. It is demonstrated that the type of solvent and the initial solution concentration, among other factors, can serve as tools to direct the morphology of spin-coated thin films. The driving forces leading to the pattern formation are reviewed with respect to these parameters-type of solvents and polymer concentration. As a result well-defined surface patterns of functional hybrid materials are obtained. Moreover, the same tools used to direct the pattern formation can be applied to gain control over the particle size and size distribution.