Polymer Micro/Nanofiber Fabrication using Micro/Nanopipettes

Abstract

One of the most significant barriers for enabling the breakthroughs promised by nanotechnology is mass production of nanoscale structures, devices, and systems. One of the main challenges of nanomanufacturing systems is three dimensional customized manufacturing of micro/nanofibers. In this article we present a specialized tool developed for reproducible and controlled fabrication of micro/nano polymer fibers using micro/nanopipettes. Development of this tool will facilitate controlled deposition and shaping of polymer materials at the sub-micron scale in precisely determined locations. We present experimental results obtained using concentrated solutions of high molecular weight poly(methyl methacrylate) dissolved in chlorobenzene. Results indicate that it is feasible fabricating high aspect ratio (length to diameter ratio) polymer fibers having diameters approaching less than 200 nanometers using this approach.