Dimensional architecture of ferrocenyl-based oligomer honeycomb-patterned films: from monolayer to multilayer

We report a fabrication of highly ordered honeycomb-patterned films by the breath figure method from ferrocenyl-based oligomer with ferrocene units in the main chain and hydrophobic cholesteryl groups as side chains and investigate their dimensionality nature, i.e., the array of pores varying from monolayer to multilayer structure. A tentative model, including several key influencing parameters, is described to illustrate the varying layer numbers in the one film. The formation of the multilayer structure is ascribed to the Marangoni convection, thermocapillary effects, wet thickness, and evaporation speed.