Modification of Polysulfide Surfaces with Low-Power Lasers

The modification of polymer surfaces using laser light is important for many applications in the nano-, bio- and chemical sciences. Such capabilities have supported advances in biomedical devices, electronics, information storage, microfluidics, and other functional material applications. In most cases, these modifications require high power lasers that are expensive and require specialized equipment and facilities to minimize risk of hazardous irradiation. Additionally, polymer systems that can be easily modified by lasers are often complex and costly to prepare. In this report, these challenges are addressed with the discovery of low-cost sulfur copolymers that can be rapidly modified with lasers emitting low-power infrared and visible light. The featured copolymers are made from elemental sulfur and either cyclopentadiene or dicyclopentadiene—all inexpensive building blocks. The addition of Fe2O3 nanoparticles to the polymer matrix enhanced the rate of modification, enabling polymer ablation at lower laser powers for the dicyclopentadiene-derived polymer, which had a high glass transition temperature. Using a panel of lasers with discreet wavelengths (532, 638 and 786 nm) and powers, a variety of surface modifications could be made on the polymers such as controlled swelling or etching via ablation. The facile synthesis and laser modification of these polymer systems were exploited in applications such as direct laser lithography and erasable information storage.