Synthesis of polymeric micro- and nanostructural materials for application in non-linear optics Lyubov Kravets a, * , Natalia Palistrant b , Valerii Bivol b , Stepan Robu b , Nikolai Barba b , Oleg Orelovitch a a Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, Joliot-Curie Str. 6, 141980 Dubna, Moscow Region, Russian Federation b Institute of Applied Physics of Moldavian Academy of Sciences, Academiei Str. 5, MD-2028 Chisinau, Moldova Received 18 April 2007; received in revised form 9 July 2007 Available online 14 September 2007 Abstract The present paper describes a new approach developed for the preparation of micro- and nanostructural materials on the basis of polymeric compositions used as a matrix in non-linear optics. This approach consists in filling the pores of poly(ethylene terephthalate) track membranes (PET TM) from polymeric compositions using an impregnation method. It is shown that depending on the concen- tration of polymeric compositions in the solution it is possible to form a variety of micro- and nanostructural materials (tubules and wires as well as composite membranes) with a wide spectrum of characteristics. The developed method of producing micro- and nano- structural materials provides a possible way for creating polymeric objects with non-linear optic properties which can be used to design electronic micro- and nanodevices and to obtain chemical and optical sensors. Ó 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. PACS: 61.46.Tw Keywords: Template synthesis; Track membrane; Polymeric compositions; Micro- and nanostructural materials; Non-linear optics 1. Introduction In recent years the problem of producing micro- and nanostructural materials with porous materials as a tem- plate has excited great interest [1,2]. This method consists in filling the pores of the template with a desired material by various physicochemical methods. These investigations are of major practical and scientific importance since they allow obtaining of a wide spectrum of micro- and nano- structural materials with unique properties for application in various areas of modern science and technologies: nano- electronics, photonics, chemotronics, biotechnologies, etc. Two types of porous membranes: the aluminum mem- branes and the polymeric track membranes are often used as templates. Aluminum membranes are achieved via anod- ization of aluminum foil in acid media [3], and the track membranes are produced by an irradiation of polymeric films with a beam of highly energetic heavy ions followed by a subsequent chemical etching of the resulting particle latent tracks [4,5]. Both types of membranes have cylindri- cal pores with a narrow pore size distribution that gives an opportunity for the synthesis of micro- and nanostructural objects – wires, tubules as well as composite membranes. When the pore area is completely filled by a desired mate- rial, micro- and nanowires are produced, if the used mate- rial is deposited along the pore walls only, micro- and nanotubules are formed. In order to fill the pores of the template various materials can be used: metals [6–8], carbon [9,10], semiconductors [11,12], polymers [13–15]. The micro- and nanostructures can remain inside the pores of the template or they can be freed from the membrane. To produce free micro- and nanowires as well as free micro- and nanotubules, the porous matrix is dissolved 0168-583X/$ - see front matter Ó 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.nimb.2007.09.020 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +7 49621 62448; fax: +7 49621 28933. E-mail address: kravets@lnr.jinr.ru (L. Kravets). www.elsevier.com/locate/nimb Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 264 (2007) 311–317 NIM B Beam Interactions with Materials & Atoms