Li Peiliu, Huang Xianfu, Zhao Ya-Pu
State Key Laboratory of Nonlinear Mechanics, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
School of Engineering Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Nat Commun. 2023 Oct 3;14(1):6150. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-41922-2.
Thin films are widely-used functional materials that have attracted much interest in academic and industrial applications. With thin films becoming micro/nanoscale, developing a simple and nondestructive peeling method for transferring and reusing the films remains a major challenge. Here, we develop an electro-capillary peeling strategy that achieves thin film detachment by driving liquid to percolate and spread into the bonding layer under electric fields, immensely reducing the deformation and strain of the film compared with traditional methods (reaching 86%). Our approach is evaluated via various applied voltages and films, showing active control characterizations and being appropriate for a broad range of films. Theoretically, electro-capillary peeling is achieved by utilizing the Maxwell stress to compete with the film's adhesion stress and tension stress. This work shows the great potential of the electro-capillary peeling method to provide a simple way to transfer films and facilitates valid avenues for reusing soft materials.
薄膜是广泛应用的功能材料，在学术和工业应用中引起了广泛关注。随着薄膜向微/纳米尺度发展，开发一种简单且无损的剥离方法以转移和重复使用薄膜仍然是一项重大挑战。在此，我们开发了一种电毛细管剥离策略，该策略通过在电场作用下驱动液体渗透并扩散到粘结层中来实现薄膜分离，与传统方法相比，极大地减少了薄膜的变形和应变（达到86%）。我们的方法通过各种施加电压和薄膜进行评估，显示出主动控制特性，适用于广泛的薄膜。从理论上讲，电毛细管剥离是通过利用麦克斯韦应力与薄膜的粘附应力和拉伸应力相抗衡来实现的。这项工作展示了电毛细管剥离方法在提供一种简单的薄膜转移方式以及为软材料的重复使用开辟有效途径方面的巨大潜力。
