Excessive-power lasers are sometimes used to change polymer surfaces to make high-tech biomedical merchandise, electronics and knowledge storage parts.
Now Flinders College researchers have found a light-responsive, cheap sulfur-derived polymer is receptive to low energy, seen mild lasers — promising a extra inexpensive and safer manufacturing methodology in nanotech, chemical science and patterning surfaces in organic functions.
Particulars of the novel system have simply been revealed in one of many highest-ranking chemistry journals, Angewandte Chemie Worldwide Version, that includes a laser-etched model of the well-known Mona Lisa portray and micro-braille printing even smaller than a pin head.
“This may very well be a option to scale back the necessity for costly, specialised gear together with high-power lasers with hazardous radiation threat, whereas additionally utilizing extra sustainable supplies. For example, the important thing polymer is constituted of low-cost elemental sulfur, an industrial byproduct, and both cyclopentadiene or dicyclopentadiene,” says Matthew Flinders Professor of Chemistry Justin Chalker, from the Flinders College.
“Our research used a set of lasers with discreet wavelengths (532, 638 and 786 nm) and powers to exhibit a wide range of floor modifications on the particular polymers, together with managed swelling or etching through ablation.
“The facile synthesis and laser modification of those photo-sensitive polymer methods have been exploited in functions resembling direct-write laser lithography and erasable data storage,” says Dr Chalker from the Flinders College Institute for NanoScale Science and Engineering.
As quickly because the laser mild touches the floor, the polymer will swell or etch a pit to style traces, holes, spikes and channels immediately.
The invention was made by Flinders College researcher and co-author Dr Christopher Gibson throughout what was regarded as a routine evaluation of a polymer first invented within the Chalker Lab in 2022by PhD candidate Samuel Tonkin and Professor Chalker.
Dr Gibson says: “The novel polymer was instantly modified by a low-power lasers — an uncommon response I had by no means noticed earlier than on some other widespread polymers.
“We instantly launched that this phenomenon may be helpful in quite a few functions, so we guild a analysis venture across the discovery.”
One other Flinders Faculty of Science and Engineering PhD candidate, Ms Abigail Mann, led the subsequent stage of the venture and is first-author on the brand new worldwide journal paper.
“The result of those efforts is a brand new know-how for producing exact patterns on the polymer floor,” she says.
“It’s thrilling to develop and convey new microfabrication strategies to sulfur-based supplies. We hope to encourage a broad vary of real-world functions in our lab and past.”
Potential functions embrace new approaches to storing knowledge on polymers, new patterned surfaces for biomedical functions, and new methods to make micro- and nanoscale units for electronics, sensors and microfluidics.
With help from analysis affiliate Dr Lynn Lisboa and Samuel Tonkin, the Flinders group performed detailed evaluation of how the laser modifies the polymer and the way to management the kind and dimension of modification.
One other co-author Dr Lisboa provides: “The influence of this discovery extends far past the laboratory, with potential use in biomedical units, electronics, data storage, microfluidics, and lots of different practical materials functions.
Flinders spectroscopist Dr Jason Gascooke, of the Australian Nationwide Fabrication Facility (ANFF), additionally labored on the venture. He says the most recent discovery wouldn’t have been attainable with out the instruments afforded by Federal and State Authorities funding for the nationwide services of Microscopy Australia and the ANFF in SA, in addition to Flinders Microscopy and Microanalysis.
