Polycarbonate Activation for Electroless Plating by Dimethylaminoborane Absorption And

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

Polycarbonate activation for electroless plating by dimethylaminoborane absorption and subsequent nanoparticle deposition

Applied Physics A: Material Science & Processing

Falk Muench,1,* Sebastian Bohn,1 Markus Rauber,1,2 Tim Seidl,1,2 Aldin Radetinac,1Ulrike Kunz,1Stefan Lauterbach,1 Hans-Joachim Kleebe,1Christina Trautmann,1,2 Wolfgang Ensinger1

1 TU Darmstadt, Department of Materials and Geoscience, Petersenstraße 23, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany

2 GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research GmbH, Department of Materials Research, Planckstraße 1, 64291, Darmstadt, Germany

* corresponding author:

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1) IR spectra of pristine and methanol-treated polycarbonate

A pristine ion track etched polycarbonate membrane and an identical sample which was immersed in methanol for 30 min were measured with FTIR. No significant changes in the polycarbonate spectrum were observed.

Fig. S1: IR spectra of pristine and methanol-treated ion track etched polycarbonate membranes.

2) Dependence of the DMAB uptake on the sensitization time and DMAB concentration

To evaluate the effect of the sensitization time and the DMAB concentration on the DMAB uptake by the polycarbonate membranes, one parameter was held constant while varying the other. For the investigation of the time-dependence, a constant DMAB concentration of 1molL-1 was applied, while the sensitization time was held constant at 30 min while changing the DMAB concentration of the sensitization solution. The integrated intensity of the N-H and B-H stretching vibration bands was used as a measure for the DMAB concentration in the polymer.

Fig. S2: DMAB uptake depending on a) the sensitization time and b) the DMAB concentration in the sensitization solution.

3) AFM characterization of the pristine and sensitized polycarbonate surface

The surface morphology of a pristine and a sensitized polycarbonate foil was imaged with AFM. The sensitized foil was treated with a methanolic DMAB solution (1 mol L-1 DMAB) for 30 min. For the roughness calculations presented in the text, the 1 x 1 µm images were used.

Fig. S3: a) AFM survey image of the pristine PC surface. b) 3D plot of a 1 x 1 µm surface area of the pristine sample. c) AFM survey image of the PC surface after sensitization. d) 3D plot of a 1 x 1 µm surface area of the sensitized sample.

4) Photographs of activated polycarbonate templates

The activated templates showed colors which were characteristic for the deposited metal nanoparticle type. The porous regions of the templates were more intensely colored, indicating nanoparticle deposition inside the extended surface of the etched ion tracks.

Fig. S4: Photographs of templates activated with a) Au nanoparticles and b) Pd nanoparticles.

5) Magnified TEM images of the deposited metal nanoparticles

The samples correspond to those depicted in Fig.4.

Fig. S5: TEM images of nanoparticles deposited in the ion track etched polycarbonate templates. a) Rh seeds. b) Pd seeds. c) Pt seeds. d) Ag seeds. e) Au seeds.