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 [PdCl42− and Pd(NH3)42+] 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.