Visualization of chemical modification of pore internal surfaces using fluorescence microscopy

Maekawa, Yasunari; Suzuki, Yasuyuki; Maeyama, Katsuya*; Yonezawa, Noriyuki*; Yoshida, Masaru

Since well-characterized chemical modification of pore inner surfaces in polymer membranes should be very important from the view point of synthetic chemistry of polymer surfaces as well as designing materials for application such as separation membranes and nanoscopic electronic devices, we reported herein the chemical modification of internal surfaces of the cylindrical pores with 0.31 and 0.54 m in diameter through the reaction of the carboxylic acids on the surfaces with the alkylation reagent bearing a pyrene fluorophore. The incorporation of the fluorophore on the pore internal surfaces were successfully confirmed by the fluorescence microscope images of the membrane reacting with the alkylation reagent bearing a pyrene fluorophore.