Nanoarchitectonics of Polymers at Interfaces

Abstract

The field of materials science is of paramount importance in the solution to societal issues, including energy, environmental, and biomedical problems. Polymer chemistry is a leading material science that has produced a number of practical materials. The development of nanotechnology for the control of ultrasmall structures and interface technology for the organization of polymer components has both made significant contributions to this field. This review, entitled “Nanoarchitectonics of Polymers at Interfaces,” focuses on nanoarchitectonics and interface technologies to examine recent research trends on the design of functional polymeric materials. Three interface technologies are especially considered: i) the Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) technique, which allows for the orientation and hybridization of polymers at interfaces; ii) layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly, which allows for the construction of rational layered structures from polymers and other materials; and iii) on-surface synthesis, which uses nanotechnology to perform nanoarchitectonics of polymers on surfaces. The final section of the review discusses the trends and necessary future directions in “Nanoarchitectonics of Polymers at Interfaces” based on these research examples.