Patterned ZnO deposition on substrates has received increasing attention
because of its great potential in photocatalysis, energy conversion, and
electro-optical techniques. Chemical solution growth is especially promising
for organic substrates due to its very mild reaction conditions. Here this
method is used on functionality-patterned polymer surfaces in order to
fabricate positive and negative ZnO micropatterns. A ZnO film made of
arrayed rods, typically 500–750nm in diameter and 2.5mm in length, is
selectively obtained on sulfated and hydroxylated regions of biaxially
oriented poly(propylene), giving rise to positive patterns. For reactive
polyesters such as poly(ethylene terephthalate), the ZnO rods selectively
remain on the unmodified original regions, creating negative patterns.
Unlike complex photolithography procedures, the irradiation and patterning
processes do not require the use of positive or negative photoresists,
and possible damage from acidic solutions on the underlying substrate
during the chemical etching process is avoided. The process thus proves to
be a simple, creditable, and low-cost method, which could be easily applied
on a variety of inert and reactive polymer surfaces.