This grant provides funding for the development of a novel contact printing technique for surface patterning at the nanometer scale. Contact printing is a cost-effective surface patterning technique that holds tremendous potential for industrial adoption in advanced manufacturing processes. The technique relies on transferring an ink material from a stamp to a substrate through intimate contact. The ink is a water-soluble polymer that allows for a unique spectrum of chemical reactions. The reactions can be readily used to pattern a wide range of technologically important materials including biomolecules, metals and carbon nanotubes. In this study, the inking and printing processes of the technique will be systematically studied and optimized. The optimized processes will be used to fabricate a variety of functional nanostructures for a variety of applications.
If successful, this research will deliver a new surface patterning technique that has an unprecedented set of capabilities and that is low cost. This technique will impact applications such as sensors, flexible electronics and displays, and bio-chips. The knowledge acquired is also valuable in developing other surface engineering nano-scale techniques. Research resources and high-quality education will be provided to college students. In addition, the successful implementation of the funded project will offer research training to students from underrepresented groups, improve undergraduate education, increase public awareness of nano-science/technology, and foster interest in pursuing higher education and career in science and engineering among K-12 students.
