Dispersion forces are present everywhere. Their importance, however, is largely neglected because
directly at a surface or at an interface they are mostly weak compared with specific interaction of short
range. Here, we show that these forces are nonetheless extremely relevant and may have drastic consequences
on the stability of thin films. We demonstrate that a force (per unit area) of <1 Pa is capable of “destroying”
100 nm (!) thick films, even if they are “glued” to the substrate by end-grafted polymers. We present the
temporal evolution of different morphologies of unstable thin liquid polymer films caused by destabilizing
intermolecular forces.
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