Patterning high explosives at the nanoscale

For the first time, we have shown that spin coating and Dip pen nanolithography (DPN™) are simple methods of preparing energetic materials such as PETN and HMX on the nanoscale. requiring no heating of the energetic material. Nanoscale patterning has been demonstrated by the DPN method while continuous thin films were produced using the spin coating method. Results are presented for preparing continuous PETN thin films of nanometer thickness by the spin coating method and for controlling the architecture of arbitrary nanoscale patterns of PETN and HMX by the DPN method. These methods are simple for patterning energetic materials and can be extended beyond PETN and HMX, opening the door for fundamental studies at the nanoscale.