Highly Aligned Carbon Nanowire Array by E-Field Directed Assembly of PAN-Containing Block Copolymers

Nanoscale engineering of carbon materials is immensely demanded in various scientific areas. We present highly ordered nitrogen-doped carbon nanowire arrays via block copolymer (BCP) self-assembly under an electric field. Large dielectric constant difference between distinct polymer blocks offers rapid alignment of PMMA-b-PAN self-assembled nanodomains under an electric field. Lithographic patterning of the graphene electrode as well as straightforward thermal carbonization of the PAN block creates well-aligned carbon nanowire device structures. Diverse carbon nanopatterns including radial and curved arrays can be readily assembled by the modification of electrode shapes. Our carbon nanopatterns bear a nitrogen content over 26%, highly desirable for NO₂ sensing, as the nitrogen element acts as adsorption sites for NO₂ molecules. Aligned carbon nanowire arrays exhibits a 6-fold enhancement of NO₂ sensitivity from a randomly aligned counterpart. Taking advantage of well-established benefits from device-oriented BCP nanopatterning, our approach proposes a viable route to highly ordered carbon nanostructures compatible to next-generation device architectures.