Enhanced Instability in Thin Liquid Films by Improved Compatibility

Reiter, Günter; Khanna, Rajesh; Sharma, Ashutosh

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.85.1432

Cited by 109 publications

(113 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…These holes expand laterally resulting in the formation of a polygonal network of liquid rims that may break into ensembles of liquid drops [4,5]. Experimental and theoretical work investigates the initial rupture of the film [2,[6][7][8], the growth of single holes and of the rim surrounding it [9][10][11], the change in time and the final state of the overall pattern [3,5,[12][13][14][15] and instabilities of the liquid rim surrounding the growing hole [16][17][18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the importance of nucleation solutions for the rupture of thin liquid films

Thiele

Neuffer

Pomeau

et al. 2002

Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspect

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The process of dewetting of a thin liquid film is usually described using a long wave approximation yielding a single evolution equation for the film thickness. This equation incorporates an additional pressure term-the disjoining pressure-accounting for the effective interaction of the thin film with the substrate. We use the equation to study the evolution of unstable thin films examining the thickness ranges for linear instability and metastability for flat films, the families of stationary periodic and localized solutions and their linear stability. From this we conclude that within the linearly unstable thickness range exists a well defined subrange where finite perturbations are crucial for the time evolution and the resulting structures. In the remainder of the linearly unstable thickness range the resulting structures are controlled by the fastest flat film mode as was assumed up to now for all the linearly unstable thickness range. The results are shown for a disjoining pressure derived by coupling hydrodynamics to the diffuse interface model and for disjoining pressures combining destabilizing [stabilizing] polar short-range interaction with stabilizing [destabilizing] apolar long-range interaction. Finally, the implications for spinodal decomposition of a binary mixture are discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the importance of nucleation solutions for the rupture of thin liquid films

Thiele

Neuffer

Pomeau

et al. 2002

Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspect

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“…Recently, much attention has been paid to the dewetting behaviour of poly(styrene) (PS) films on silicon or on another polymer [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12], such as rubbery poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) [1,11,12]. In other studies, the spinodal dewetting of thin poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) films deposited on a PS substrate has been extensively investigated [13,14,3].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural relaxation of spin-cast glassy polymer thin films as a possible factor in dewetting

et al. 2003

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Reiter [1] has recently reported a situation in which the dewetting of quasi-solid films is linked plastic deformation -rather than viscous flow -resulting from capillary forces. Herein we propose that, in thin films of some glassy polymers -especially poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) -prepared by spin-casting from solvent, structural relaxation might impart sufficient stress to cause plastic deformation. We find that PMMA films decrease in thickness by several percent, which is sufficient to create significant stress in those cases in which the film is attached to a rigid substrate. The floating technique, which can take tens of minutes, might allow most of the structural relaxation to occur prior to dewetting experiments.

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“…On a chemically heterogeneous substrate, dewetting is driven by the spatial gradient of micro-scale wettability [12], rather than by the non-wettability of the substrate itself. The latter occurs in the so called spinodal dewetting on homogeneous surfaces [13,14]. While the rupture of a thin film on a single heterogeneous patch is now well understood, patterned substrates pack a large density of surface features that are closely spaced.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Templating of Thin Films Induced by Dewetting on Patterned Surfaces

2001

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The instability, dynamics and morphological transitions of patterns in thin liquid films on periodic striped surfaces (consisting of alternating less and more wettable stripes) are investigated based on 3-D nonlinear simulations that account for the inter-site hydrodynamic and surface-energetic interactions. The film breakup is suppressed on some potentially destabilizing nonwettable sites when their spacing is below a characteristic lengthscale of the instability (λ h ), the upper bound for which is close to the spinodal lengthscale. The thin film pattern replicates the substrate surface energy pattern closely only when, (a) the periodicity of substrate pattern matches closely with the λ h , and (b) the stripe-width is within a range bounded by a lower critical length, below which no heterogeneous rupture occurs, and an upper transition length above which complex morphological features bearing little resemblance to the substrate pattern are formed. PACS numbers: 68.15.+e, 47.20.Ma, 47.54.+r, 68.08.De, 68.08.Bc Self-organization during dewetting of thin films on deliberately tailored chemically heterogeneous substrates is of increasing promise for engineering of desired nano-and micro-patterns in thin films by templeting [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]. On a chemically heterogeneous substrate, dewetting is driven by the spatial gradient of micro-scale wettability [12], rather than by the non-wettability of the substrate itself. The latter occurs in the so called spinodal dewetting on homogeneous surfaces [13,14]. While the rupture of a thin film on a single heterogeneous patch is now well understood, patterned substrates pack a large density of surface features that are closely spaced. How does hydrodynamic interactions between the neighboring heterogeneities affect the pattern evolution dynamics and morphology in thin films? This question, which is addressed here, is central to our understanding of how faithfully the substrate patterns are reproduced in a thin film spontaneously, i.e., how effective is the templeting of soft materials by dewetting route and what are the conditions for ideal templeting? An associated question for both the patterned and naturally occurring heterogeneous surfaces is whether all the potentially dewetting sites remain active or "live" in producing rupture when they are in close proximity. These questions are resolved based on 3-D nonlinear simulations of the stability, dynamics and morphology of thin films on periodic chemically heterogeneous surfaces.The substrate considered consists of alternating less wettable and more wettable (or completely wettable) stripes that differ in their interactions with the overlying film. The key parameters of the substrate pattern are its periodicity interval (center-to-center distance between two consecutive stripes, L p ) and the length-scale of the less wettable stripe (stripe-width, W ). The following nondimensional thin film equation governs the stability and spatio-temporal evolution of a thin film system subjected to the excess intermolecular in...

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Enhanced Instability in Thin Liquid Films by Improved Compatibility

Cited by 109 publications

References 29 publications

On the importance of nucleation solutions for the rupture of thin liquid films

On the importance of nucleation solutions for the rupture of thin liquid films

Structural relaxation of spin-cast glassy polymer thin films as a possible factor in dewetting

Templating of Thin Films Induced by Dewetting on Patterned Surfaces

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