Fabrication of regular arrays of organic crystalline needles using creases formed on oxidized poly(dimethylsiloxane) surfaces

In this study, creases are regularly self-assembled on the oxidized surface of poly(dimethylsiloxane) by swelling-induced buckling instability. These creases are then used as templates for the regular arrangement of crystalline needles. The solution of an organic compound is confined in the aligned creases and dried to generate a crystalline needle in each crease. Thus, the orientation of the crystalline needles and their two-dimensional position could be controlled. The organic compounds used in this study are anthraquinone and 9,10-dibromoanthracene, among which the latter is an organic semiconducting material. It is expected that the method proposed in the study can be used to fabricate regular arrays of organic semiconducting crystalline needles or nanowires that can be used as elements of electronic devices such as organic field-effect transistors and chemical sensors. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47736.