Electroless deposition of zinc oxide on pincushion films prepared by self-organization

This report describes the electroless deposition of zinc oxide on pincushion-like polymer structures prepared by self-organization. By using condensed water droplet arrays as templates, a honeycomb-patterned film was formed after evaporation of solvent and template water droplets from casting polymer solution. Well-ordered pincushion structures were prepared by peeling off the top layer of the honeycomb-patterned film. Thin catalytic gold layer was sputtered onto the pincushion film of polystyrene and amphiphilic copolymer, and the gold-coated pincushion film was dipped in an aqueous solution containing zinc ion and reducer. The scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that zinc oxide layer was formed on the gold-coated pincushion film.