Gaillard T, Poulard C, Voisin T, Honorez C, Davidson P, Drenckhan W, Roché M
Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, CNRS UMR 8502 and Université Paris Sud , Bâtiment 510, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France.
ACS Macro Lett. 2015 Oct 20;4(10):1144-1148. doi: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.5b00535. Epub 2015 Oct 2.
Thin polymer films have attracted attention because of both their broad range of applications and of the fundamental questions they raise regarding the dynamic response of confined polymers. These films are unstable if the temperature is above their glass transition temperature . Here, we describe freestanding thin films of centimetric dimensions made of a comb copolymer melt far from its glass transition that are stable for more than a day. These long lifetimes allowed us to characterize the drainage dynamics and the thickness profile of the films. Stratified regions appear as the film drains. We have evidence that the stability, thinning dynamics, and thickness profile of the films result from structural forces in the melt. Understanding the key mechanisms behind our observations may lead to new developments in polymeric thin films, foams, and emulsions without the use of stabilizing agents.
薄聚合物薄膜因其广泛的应用以及它们所引发的关于受限聚合物动态响应的基本问题而备受关注。如果温度高于其玻璃化转变温度，这些薄膜就会不稳定。在此，我们描述了由梳状共聚物熔体制成的、尺寸达厘米级且远离其玻璃化转变温度的独立式薄膜，这些薄膜能稳定存在超过一天。这些较长的寿命使我们能够表征薄膜的排水动力学和厚度分布。随着薄膜排水，分层区域出现。我们有证据表明，薄膜的稳定性、变薄动力学和厚度分布是由熔体中的结构力导致的。理解我们观察结果背后的关键机制可能会在不使用稳定剂的情况下，推动聚合物薄膜、泡沫和乳液领域的新发展。
