Fabrication of honeycomb-patterned porous films from PS-b-PNIPAM amphiphilic diblock copolymers synthesized via RITP

[Display omitted] •PS-b-PNIPAM amphiphilic diblock copolymers were synthesized via RITP.•The honeycomb structured porous films were fabricated.•The porous films were characterized by FESEM and AFM.•The effects of Ag particles on the porous films were discussed. Poly(styrene)-b-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PS-b-PNIPAM) amphiphilic diblock copolymers were synthesized via reverse iodine transfer polymerization (RITP) firstly. And then the honeycomb structured porous films were fabricated by drop the amphiphilic diblock copolymer solutions on glass substrates. The porous films were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. The results showed that the regular honeycomb patterned porous film was achieved successfully by employing the block copolymer with a significantly larger polystyrene block proportion into the solution and the pore diameter of the film decreases obviously with the polymer concentration increased. The effects of airflow speed and Ag particles on porous films are also discussed in this study.