A Facile Approach to Superhydrophilic–Superhydrophobic Patterns in Porous Polymer Films

A facile and versatile method for creating superhydrophilic patterns in superhydrophobic porous polymer films by UV-initiated photografting is presented. The extreme difference in wettability between superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic areas allows the use of the superhydrophilic patterns as virtual microfluidic channels. The method allows for precise control of the size and geometry of photografted superhydrophilic features, and the thickness, morphology, and transparency of the superhydrophobic and hydrophobic porous polymer films. Detailed facts of importance to specialist readers are published as "Supporting Information". Such documents are peer-reviewed, but not copy-edited or typeset. They are made available as submitted by the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.