Solvent and relative humidity effect on highly ordered polystyrene honeycomb patterns analyzed by Voronoi tesselation

• Published in: Journal of applied polymer science Vol. 133; no. 39; pp. np - n/a
• Main Authors: Ruiz-Rubio, Leire, Azpitarte, Itxasne, García-Huete, Nuria, Laza, José Manuel, Vilas, José Luis, León, Luis M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Blackwell Publishing Ltd 15-10-2016; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Arrays; Entropy; Glass; Honeycomb; Materials science; Micrometers; nanostructured polymers; Polymers; polystyrene; Polystyrene resins; Relative humidity; Solvents
• ISSN: 0021-8995; 1097-4628
• DOI: 10.1002/app.44004

ABSTRACT
Highly ordered honeycomb‐patterned polystyrene surfaces are efficiently prepared by static breath figure method. The structured arrays can be obtained by casting a dilute solution polymer on glass substrates under various conditions. Tetrahydrofuran and chloroform are used as solvent to form cavities of several micrometers. The analysis of the surfaces indicates nonlinear relation between concentration and pore size in this system. Voronoi tessellations of the polystyrene surfaces at different relative humidity (RH) are achieved, and each conformational entropy determined. Optimum parameters of concentration and RH are obtained for both solvents. Analysis of hole size distribution and conformational entropy demonstrates the high order of the films obtained. This is a promising method for the fabrication of homogeneous and highly porous films from polystyrene. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 44004.