Emerging trends in metal-containing block copolymers: synthesis, self-assembly, and nanomanufacturing applications

Block copolymers with metals confined in one or more blocks are emerging as candidate materials for nanomanufacturing applications due to their unprecedented nanoscale pattern transfer capabilities. In this article we highlight recent developments in metal-containing block copolymers in terms of their novel synthetic methodologies with particular emphasis on sequential infiltration synthesis, their hierarchical self-assembly from nano, meso, and submicron scales, and their applications as an etch mask for high-throughput, high-aspect-ratio nano and meso scale patterning.