Nanostructures from laser-ablated nanohole templates
Solution casting a nanostructure. Preparing a template by ablating nanoholes in a substrate using single-femtosecond laser machining. Replicating the nanoholes by applying a solution of a polymer and a solvent into the template. After the solvent has substantially dissipated, removing the replica from the substrate.
1. A method for fabricating a nanofiber array, comprising:
(a) providing a template comprising a transparent substrate having a surface, the surface comprising a plurality of nanoholes, each nanohole of said plurality being ablated in said surface using a single femtosecond laser pulse;
(b) filling said plurality of nanoholes with a polymer solution; and
(c) extracting an array of polymer nanofibers from the template;
wherein said nanofibers have an aspect ratio of at least ten-to-one and a diameter of less than 1000 nanometers.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said array of polymer nanofibers comprises a plurality of freestanding polymer nanofibers attached to a polymer substrate.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein said polymer nanofibers are positioned on said polymer substrate in a non-random, user-defined pattern.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising treating the surface of the template with a material to modify the surface and bonding characteristics associated with said template and said array.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying a fluorocarbon-based antistick coating to the template prior to filling said plurality of nanoholes with a polymer solution.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the fluorocarbon-based antistick coating is prepared from perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising modifying the template to enlarge or change a geometry of said plurality of nanoholes.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein said modifying comprises using chemical reactions, vapor, etching, or liquid growth processes.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein said nanofibers have an aspect ratio of greater than twenty-five-to-one.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said nanofibers have an average length greater than ten micrometers and a diameter less than one micrometer.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein said nanofibers have an average length of at least thirty micrometers and a diameter less than one micrometer.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein said polymer is a polymer capable of forming a continuous film.