Metallization of Chiral and Grooved Polymers at Nanoscale

Different types of polymers with chiral or grooved pattern on the surface were covered (decorated) with metal nanoparticles (silver, gold, nickel, etc.) or thin metal films (silver) in order to create surfaces with increased light reflection and to study possible plasmonic effects arising from ordered arrangement of nanoparticles and metal films. Decorated surfaces were inspected under the microscope and studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). It was shown that for chiral surfaces the nanoparticles tend to arrange themselves along the spirals not only on the surfaces of original chiral polymers with focal conic domains but also on their replicas made from different polymers. Changes in light scattering and transmission were attributed to the presence of metal inclusions on the surface and are discussed in detail.