Materials that simultaneously have contrasting
properties—for example, they are soft on the one hand and hard on
the other, with a gradual transition between the two
properties—could enable completely new applications like
anti-reflective lenses. In nature, such merging properties are
indeed common, for example in mussels or in the human eye.
Materials scientists at Kiel University have been using this
principle to develop new materials on the nanoscale. They have now
succeeded in producing ultra-thin copolymer films with such
gradually varying properties. As multifunctional coatings, they
could allow complex optical and electronic applications in
miniature format, for example for microelectronics. Their results
were recently published in the journal Materials Today and also
featured on the cover page of the issue.
