(338l) Combining Spin-Coating with Ring Opening Metathesis Polymerization for the Rapid Synthesis of Thin Polymer Films

Polymeric thin films have emerged in prevalence in recent years due to their cost-efficiency, ease of synthesis, and unique physical and chemical properties. These films can be used to alter the functionality of a substrate or bulk surface through numerous methods. One such method is the spin coating of photoresists where a polymer is dispensed onto a solid substrate and spun off, leaving a thin polymer layer atop the substrate. Spin coating requires a polymer solution to be synthesized prior to spin coating, which could require several liters of volatile organic solvent to be used in synthesis and deposition for one thin film. Here, we reduce solvent usage by orders of magnitude by combining the polymer synthesis and deposition into a single process. Specifically, we combine spin coating and ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) to generate a novel approach for fabricating thin films that we term spin-coating ROMP (scROMP). The scROMP approach allows thin films to be fabricated in under three minutes using cyclic olefin monomers, Grubbs 3^rd generation catalyst, and as little as half an mL of solvent per 25 cm² of polymer areal coverage. Spin speed and monomer concentration can be readily varied to control the film thickness. Polymers fabricated through scROMP were characterized by ATR-FTIR, stylus profilometry, SEM, contact angels, and GPC to determine properties as scROMP parameters and monomers were varied. The process enables the rapid synthesis of many different polymer compositions to impact such applications as polar solvent dehydration by thin film composite membranes.