Polymer melt flow through nanochannels: From theory and fabrication to application

Polymer nanotubes/nanorods have recently received much more interest and have become an important topic in the interdisciplinary field of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Generally, they can be easily fabricated by template wetting of polymer melts. This short review presents effective ways to enhance polymer melt flow in nanochannels, typically focused on influencing wetting parameters including time, temperature, size of nanochannels and surface properties of the inner wall of nanochannels. Then, the investigation progress on polymer nanotubes/nanorods nanofabrication by nanoporous alumina template wetting is discussed. Many applications of polymer nanotubes/nanorods fabricated by template wetting from photonics to sensors and medical devices are summarized in the last section of this review.