Functional Nannomaterials Based on Nanoporous Template

Nanoporous templates have been widely used for the development of new functional nanostructured materials suitable for electronics, optics, magnetism, and energy storage materials. We have prepared nanoporous templates by using thin films of mixtures of polystyrene-block-poly (methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) and PMMA homopolymers. These templates have cylindrical nanoholes spanning the entire thickness of the film. Some applications of nanoporous templates are introduced: a) anti-reflective coating, b) the preparation of conducting polymer nanowires of poly (pyrrole), poly (3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiopene) onto a glass coated with indium-tin-oxide, and c) the separation membranes for biomaterials. We found that when the pore fraction of nanoholes in the film was ~0.68, almost zero reflectance at a specific wavelength, which can be changed with film thickness, was achieved at visible wavelengths Furthermore, ultra high density array of conducting nanowires was successfully prepared onto various substrates including flexible polymer. Due to highly alignment of polymer chain along the nanowire direction, the conductivity was much increased. Furthermore, these nanoporous films were found to be very effective for the separation of human Rhinovirus type 14 (HRV 14), major pathogen of a common cold in humans, from the buffer solution. We also found that when the pore size was effectively controlled down to 6 nm, a single file diffusion was observed.