Molecular visualization of conformation-triggered flow instability.
A new type of flow fingering instability was observed in monolayer-thick polymer films as they spread on a solid substrate. Tracing the movement of individual molecules by atomic force microscopy enabled us to follow the development of the flow instability on the molecular level and to understand the underlying physical mechanism. The fingering instability was observed to be triggered by conformational changes of brushlike macromolecules in response to the pressure gradient driving the flow.
Xu
Hui
H
Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3290, USA.
Shirvanyants
David
D
Beers
Kathryn L
KL
Matyjaszewski
Krzysztof
K
Dobrynin
Andrey V
AV
Rubinstein
Michael
M
Sheiko
Sergei S
SS