Catalytic microcontact printing without ink

A novel microcontact printing technique is described that does not require ink. Patterns were created by direct contact of oxidized PDMS stamps with silyl ether-derivatized, acid-labile SAMs on gold. The surface of the stamps was oxidized by oxygen plasma to give a layer of silicon oxide. These stamps when placed on TMS and TBDMS SAMs selectively hydrolyzed these adsorbates in the areas of contact. The hydrolysis and its time dependence were studied by XPS and AFM. Because this process does not involve ink, diffusion processes, which limit the resolution in conventional microcontact printing, are avoided.