Collaboration Building: Towards the Next Generation of Scanning Probe Block Copolymer Nanolithography

纵观历史，我们操纵物质的能力一直是人类进步的基石之一，从化学反应合成药物分子，到建造最大的摩天大楼。目前，人们对纳米技术非常感兴趣，纳米技术是在纳米尺度（一米的十亿分之一）上构建和研究物体的科学。这一领域的研究表明，当材料缩小到这种尺寸，或者在这种长度上改变它们的形状时，就会产生全新的特性，这些特性与它们以散装形式存在时完全不同。通过找到利用这些不寻常特性的方法，可以开发出改进电子设备、医疗工具甚至建筑材料的新技术。然而，发展方便的方法来组装结构和化学复杂的表面与这种纳米控制仍然是一个艰巨的挑战。解决这个问题的一个可能的方法是结合两种强大的方法来产生纳米级物体：第一种是使用一种叫做“扫描探针显微镜”的仪器，它使用微型电动机来移动一个非常锋利的尖端，即仪器的“探针”，只有几纳米宽。该仪器还能够以纳米精度控制探针的运动。这种移动和定位探针的精细控制能力使得用它在表面上“书写”图案成为可能。与这种方法一起使用的是专门设计的“嵌段共聚物”，这是一种塑料材料，聚合物分子的不同部分具有不同的物理性质。由于聚合物分子的不同部分以不同的方式与周围环境和其他聚合物分子相互作用，它们将自己分离成微观和纳米级结构。例如，油滴与水分离的方式是由于油分子更倾向于与其他油分子而不是水分子结合。因此，通过使用扫描探针沉积嵌段共聚物，将有可能在表面上产生极小的液滴状结构，这将比通常单独使用标准扫描探针方法产生的结构更小。这项旅行资助将允许黄立生博士访问美国波士顿东北大学，与聚合物化学家专家张k教授合作，并开发结合这两个不同研究领域的新方法。

Throughout history, our ability to manipulate matter has always been one of the cornerstones of human progress, from the synthesis of drug molecules by chemical reactions, to the building of the largest skyscrapers. Currently, there is great interest in nanotechnology, the science of constructing and studying objects at nanometre scales (a billionth of a metre). Research in this area has shown that when materials are reduced down to this size scale, or have alterations to their shape at this length, entirely new properties can arise that are radically different from when they exist in a bulk form. By finding ways of harnessing these unusual properties, new technologies can be developed for improved electronic devices, medical tools and even construction materials. However, the development of convenient methods for assembling structurally and chemically complex surfaces with such nanometre control remains a formidable challenge.One possible means of addressing this issue is to combine two powerful methods of generating nano-scale objects: The first uses an instrument called a "scanning probe microscope", which employs miniature electrical motors to move a very sharp tip, the "probe" of the instrument that is only a few nanometres wide. The instrument is also able to control the movement of this probe with nanometre precision. This ability to move and position the probe with such fine control makes it possible to use it to "write" patterns on surfaces. Together with this method is the use of specially designed "block copolymers", which are a type of plastic material where different parts of the polymer molecule have different physical properties. Since the different portions of the polymer molecule interact with their surroundings and other polymer molecules in different ways, they separate themselves out into microscopic and nanoscopic structures. For example, the way oil droplets separate from water is due to the fact that the oil molecules prefer to associate with other oil molecules rather than water molecules. Thus, by using a scanning probe to deposit block copolymers, it will be possible to generate extremely small droplet-like structures on surfaces, which would be even smaller than could normally be produced by standard scanning probe methods alone.This travel grant will allow Dr. L. S. Wong to visit Northeastern University in Boston, USA, to work with Prof. K. Zhang, an expert polymer chemist and develop new methods that combine these two otherwise disparate areas of research.