Honeycomb structured polymer films via breath figures

Abstract

Among various structuring techniques, a water-driven ‘templating’ method for the fabrication of highly ordered porous membranes has been widely exploited for the past 17 years due to its versatility and robustness. This simple method relies on the formation of “breath figures” and the assembly of a polymer around them, resulting in the production of membranes with hexagonally arranged pores known as honeycomb structured porous polymer films/membranes. Herein, we present a review of relevant literature to stress on the advantages of this simple templating method compared with the wide range of conventional templating and lithographic techniques that have been previously used in the field. Furthermore, we present a comprehensive review on the progress in the field including the study of relevant variables, the materials that have been used, the combination of the method with other techniques, some current and potential applications for the membranes as well as characterization techniques.