Micropatterning of Porous Polymer Structures

In contrast to the immense literature in porous material generation, micropatterning of porous devices remains a technical challenge. In this study, a new process for micropatterning of porous structures with a controllable morphology was developed and investigated. This process combines polymer melt blending, hot embossing, and in mold annealing for geometrical pattern transfer and simultaneous morphological control. A special effort was made to generate a microgroove pattern with an open pore structure. Parametric experimental studies were conducted on stamps with different feature sizes under different processing conditions. The results demonstrated the feasibility and the versatility of the proposed technique in fabricating micropatterned porous structures. By varying the geometrical and boundary conditions during in mold annealing, micropatterns with graded porous structures were demonstrated.