5. Polymer Nanostructures Using Nanoporous Templates

The template method is one of the most commonly used techniques to fabricate polymer nanostructures. Polymers can be introduced into the nanopores of porous templates via various template wetting methods. In recent years, there have been significant progresses in the fabrication and characterization of polymer nanostructures using the template method. Here, we first introduce porous templates and the basic concept of the template wetting method. The anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template, one of the most commonly used porous templates, will be discussed in more detail. We then cover some of the most important template wetting methods used for polymer materials, such as the melt wetting method, the microwave annealing wetting method, and the solution wetting method. Additionally, some of the newly developed wetting methods such as the nonsolvent-induced solution wetting method and the solvent annealing wetting method are described. By applying these methods, different types of polymers can be infiltrated into the nanopores, such as homopolymers, polymer blends, block copolymers, and polymer/inorganic hybrid materials. Some recent works on the fabrication of porous polymer nanostructures using templates are also summarized. Finally, recent studies on the morphology changes of the polymer nanostructures driven by the Rayleigh-instability transformation are reviewed.