Present microelectronic photoimaging applications employ onium salts for deep UV (I-line, 365 nm) photolithography. Since most onium salts do not absorb at this wavelength, photosensitizers are commonly employed. Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons are the most efficient known examples of electron-transfer photosensitizers for onium salts. However, they have serious drawbacks that limit their use, such as they are expensive, toxis, and poorly soluable in most reactive monomers and polymer systems.

Interest and research activity in the photoinitiated cationic crosslinking polymerizations of multifunctional epoxide and oxetanes monomers have increased rapidly as this technology has found broad use in many industrial applications. However, while the synthesis of current epoxy-functional siloxanes yields monomers that undergo efficient cationic ring-opening photopolymerization to give crosslinked materials with excellent thermal and chemical resistance, they produce hard, brittle, glass-like materials with little elongation and flexibility.

A living polymerization process is one that can produce polymers of predetermind molecular weight and a narrow molecular weight distribution containing one or more monomer sequences, the length and composition of which are controlled by stoichiometry of the polymerization reaction and degree of conversion. One such process is reversible addition-fragmentation-termination (RAFT). While compounds made by RAFT function effectively as chain transfer agents, they share one major disadvantage with the entire class of sulfur-based compounds: a characteristic disagreeable odor.

Carbon nanotubes are a nanostructured material that promises to have a wide range of applications. However, the present techniques used to build nanotube architectures have several deficiencies, such as the inability to precisely and controllably align the nanotubes. This invention is a novel and powerful method to assemble carbon nanotubes on planar substrates to build and control highly organized 1-to-3D architectures.

As part of the continuing effort to reduce the environmental impact of various industrial chemical processes, there has been a strong emphasis in developing new methodology for the application and cure of organic coatings. While these ubiquitous materials are absolutely essential to modern life, they also constitute one of the primary industrial Sources of emissions of Volatile organic Solvents that contribute to air and water pollution.

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has been used for decades to make thin films, fibers, and bulk materials used in a range of applications. Modifications of CVD, for example, plasma enhanced CVD, have been used to create unique structures by varying process parameters. This technology results in particles with the structure of an inverted truncated right circular cone that could serve as interconnects or as mini energy storage units for solar cells. It could also be used as filler particles in polymer composites, where their unique structure could provide advantageous properties.

Anionic polymerization processes variously termed living, controlled, or immortal are used to synthesize polymers having a narrow molecular weight distribution and low polydispersity (1.5). These processes are so named because polymerization generally occurs by addition of monomer units to a constant number of growing polymer chains until all monomer has been consumed; if more monomer is added, polymerization resumes.

This technology relates to synthesizing nanoparticles with multiple polymer assemblies attached. In one example, a first anchoring compound is attached to a nanoparticle, and a first group of monomers are polymerized on the first anchoring compound to form a first polymeric chain covalently bonded to the nanoparticle via the first anchoring compound. In another example, a first polymeric chain can be attached to the nanoparticle, where the first polymeric chain has been polymerized prior to attachment to the nanoparticle.

This technology relates to a photopolymerizable class of vinyl ether oligomers which can find application in the areas of coatings, adhesives, printing inks, photoresists and high impact composites. The versatile photopolymerization capability makes these oligomers an excellent strategic candidate for shrinkage control coatings in place of acrylates. These oligomers include photopolymerizable functional groups which manifests excellent uniform film forming characteristics when cured by UV or electron beam radiation.

This technology relates to a high thermal conductivity thermal interface material that allows for the formation of an interconnected, spanning, high thermal conductivity network within the matrix of a polymeric material using nano particles. This material can yield two orders of magnitude higher thermal conductivities than the non-network counterpart, as well as factorial enhancements versus the state of the art polymer composites.