Environment-controlled sol-gel soft-NIL processing for optimized titania, alumina, silica and yttria-zirconia imprinting at sub-micron dimensions

Nanoscale
Thomas BotteinD Grosso

Abstract

Metal oxide (MOX) surface nanopatterns can be prepared using Soft-Nano-Imprint-Lithography (soft-NIL) combined with sol-gel deposition processing. Even if sol-gel layers remain gel-like straight after deposition, their accurate replication from a mould remains difficult as a result of the fast evaporation-induced stiffening that prevents efficient mass transfer underneath the soft mould. The present work reports a detailed investigation of the role of the xerogel layer conditioning (temperature and relative humidity) prior to imprinting and its influence on the quality of the replication. This study is performed on four different systems namely titania, alumina, silica and yttria-stabilised zirconia. We demonstrate that the quality of the replica can be considerably improved without the use of sacrificial stabilising organic agents, but by simply applying an optimal aging at controlled temperature and relative humidity specific to each different reported MOX. In each case this condition corresponds to swelling the initial xerogels of around 30%vol by water absorption from humidity. We show that this degree of swelling represents the best compromise for sufficiently increasing the xerogel fluidity while limiting the shrinkage up...Continue Reading

References

Aug 9, 2003·Journal of the American Chemical Society·Eduardo L CrepaldiClément Sanchez
Feb 2, 2009·Advanced Materials·Christophe PerozElin Søndergård
Dec 14, 2011·Advances in Colloid and Interface Science·Abhijit BiswasFranz Faupel
Mar 16, 2012·Nanoscale·Galo J A A Soler-IlliaCedric Boissiere
Jun 19, 2012·Nano Letters·Andrey B EvlyukhinBoris N Chichkov
Sep 1, 2012·Small·Htay HlaingBenjamin M Ocko
Mar 7, 2013·Nano Letters·Steven PersonLukas Novotny
Mar 13, 2014·Small·Katie E ChongYuri S Kivshar
Aug 28, 2015·Nature Communications·Andrey E MiroshnichenkoYuri S Kivshar
Dec 1, 2015·ACS Nano·Philipp GutrufChristophe Fumeaux
Jul 30, 2016·Optics Letters·Chengjun ZouChristophe Fumeaux
Mar 21, 2017·ACS Nano·Shang SunQinghai Song

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Jul 30, 2021·ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces·Zeinab ChehadiMarco Abbarchi
Jan 4, 2020·ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces·Kyungnae BaekJerome K Hyun

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Methods Mentioned

BETA
rheology
Atomic
scanning electron microscopy
AFM
light diffraction
X-ray

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.