Morphology-tuned fabrication of highly transparent and flexible nanostructures at room temperature

Shape controlled fabrication of highly transparent and flexible nanostructures (nanocone, nanoneedle, nanowalls) onto nafion substrate were performed at room temperature by simple ion irradiation method. By varying the ion incidence angle and irradiated ion, the surface morphology and alignment were gradually changed from nanocone to nanowall pattern. Interestingly, ion irradiation onto the nafion surface led to the systematic pattern without surface modification by external addition of any material onto the substrate prior to ion irradiation. The antireflective performance of the nanostructures made the surface more transparent compared to the bare substrate. The growth mechanism of the nanostructures arrays with different shapes is also discussed briefly. This straightforward and fast method is thought to be very enticing for surface engineering and fabrication of antireflective nanostructures of controlled dimension onto different kinds of plastic substrates. These kinds of transparent nanostructures might have a remarkable role for promising commercial impact in wide variety of areas such as dust-free devices, see-through devices, nanofluidics, and drug delivery.