Lithographically defined microporous carbon-composite structures
View Patent ↗A microporous carbon scaffold is produced by lithographically patterning a carbon-containing photoresist, followed by pyrolysis of the developed resist structure. Prior to exposure, the photoresist is loaded with a nanoparticulate material. After pyrolysis, the nanonparticulate material is dispersed in, and intimately mixed with, the carbonaceous material of the scaffold, thereby yielding a carbon composite structure.
1. A method for making a composite structure, comprising:
mixing foreign particulate matter into a carbon-containing photoresist;
depositing the photoresist onto a substrate;
lithographically patterning the deposited photoresist to define a microporous structure therein;
developing the patterned photoresist; and
pyrolyzing the developed photoresist so as to yield a microporous carbon scaffold in which the particulate matter or a particulate product thereof is dispersed in a single, continuous intermixed phase of carbon and particulate matter or particulate product.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the lithographic patterning is performed by interferometric lithography.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the lithographic patterning is performed so as to define a three-dimensional microporous structure in the photoresist.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the foreign particulate matter comprises flakes of graphene.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, after the pyrolyzing step, the step of subtracting the particulate matter or particulate product thereof from the microporous carbon structure so as to leave behind a plurality of pores commensurate in scale to the foreign particulate matter.