Binary oppositely charged polyelectrolyte brushes for highly selective electroless deposition of bimetallic patterns

Binary polymer brushes consisting of two oppositely charged polyelectrolytes are grafted on one substrate via two-step surface-initiated atomic transfer radical polymerization from contact printed initiator monolayer. The polymeric structures provide robust and effective platforms for highly selective loadings of catalytic-active ionic moieties with opposite charges [PdCl(4)(2-) and Pd(NH(3))(4)(2+)] that can be used for electroless deposition (ELD) of metals in the subsequent steps. Binary metallic Cu/Ni patterns can thus be built up with high site-selectivity when the deposition was carried out in the order of Cu and Ni. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V.