The Polymer Society of Korea

황사무엘 (한국과학기술원)

김상욱 (한국과학기술원)

Directed self-assembly (DSA) of block copolymers (BCPs) enables sub-10-nm nanolithography, but vertical alignment of high-χ BCPs is challenging due to strong surface energy contrast between blocks, requiring complex neutral interface control. This work presents a universal and scalable surface neutralization strategy using reduced graphene oxide (rGO) top- and bottom-coats, enabling vertical alignment of high-χ BCPs independent of substrate type. Atomically flat rGO films were prepared by spin-coating graphene oxide followed by thermal reduction under hydrogen to tune surface energy, characterized by water contact angle and XPS. High-χ BCPs were sandwiched between rGO layers and thermally annealed, resulting in vertically oriented nanostructures confirmed by SEM, GISAXS, and ToF-SIMS. Area-selective alignment and multilayer stacking using patterned or reduced rGO were also demonstrated, enabling substrate-independent and scalable nanopatterning of high-χ BCPs.