Roll-to-Roll Fabrication of Residual-Layer-Free Micro/Nanoscale Membranes with Precise Pore Architectures and Tunable Surface TexturesClick to copy article linkArticle link copied!
- Him Cheng Wong*Him Cheng Wong*E-mail: [email protected]Engineering Product Development (EPD), Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), 8 Somapah Road, Singapore 487372, SingaporeMore by Him Cheng Wong
- Gianluca GrenciGianluca GrenciMechano Biology Institute (MBI), National University of Singapore (NUS), 5A Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117411, SingaporeBiomedical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117583 SingaporeMore by Gianluca Grenci
- Jumiati WuJumiati WuEngineering Product Development (EPD), Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), 8 Somapah Road, Singapore 487372, SingaporeMore by Jumiati Wu
- Virgile ViasnoffVirgile ViasnoffMechano Biology Institute (MBI), National University of Singapore (NUS), 5A Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117411, SingaporeBio Mechanics of Cellular Contacts, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMI 3639, Singapore 117411, SingaporeMore by Virgile Viasnoff
- Hong Yee Low*Hong Yee Low*E-mail: [email protected]Engineering Product Development (EPD), Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), 8 Somapah Road, Singapore 487372, SingaporeMore by Hong Yee Low
Abstract
Many technologies are increasingly dependent on the development of membranes with highly precise pore size and spatial order. While mold-based lithographic techniques are adopted for the fabrication of such ordered porous membranes, their transition toward large-scale fabrication remains challenging because of manual and laborious process requirements. To facilitate the transition from batch to continuous membrane production, a novel roll-to-roll (R2R) process was designed based on an established capillary-driven molding technique. Establishing conformal contact between patterned mold and web support and the capillary filling of the UV-curable resin forms the basis of the molding process, which is automated by the R2R platform with precise positioning and reproducible contact force. This results in the in situ formation of residual-layer-free membranes without additional complex, expensive etching steps and, more importantly, with high throughput up to 3000 mm2/min. The versatile process allows the combination of mold and web pattern geometry and length scale, yielding multilevel and multiscale membranes that are difficult to achieve with existing methods. Membranes with double-side surface textures and hierarchical pore architectures spanning a length scale from microscale to nanoscale (down to ∼200 nm) can be fabricated by overcoming the intrinsically slow resin capillary filling at submicrometer length scale. The R2R platform’s scalability and customizability open avenues toward manufacturing porous membranes with complex yet precise architectures for a broad range of applications.
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