Convection Patterns Trapped in the Solid State by UV-Induced Polymerization

A novel approach to producing ordered patterns in polymeric films was developed, which employs (i) the generation of nonequilibrium periodic convection patterns in thin liquid layers of monomers and (ii) UV-induced polymerization of convecting fluids under controlled conditions that preserve the periodicity of the pattern. We established the conditions under which an ordered structure induced by buoyancy-driven convection in a layer of methacryloxypropyl-terminated dimethylsiloxane can be trapped in the solid state and analyzed the characteristic length scales of the solidified film.