title: Disentanglement time of polymers determines the onset of rim instabilities in dewetting.
abstract: Molecular relaxations determine the viscoelastic properties of polymers, which, in turn, control macroscopic processes like dewetting. Here, we demonstrate experimentally that the onset of rim instabilities is correlated with the longest relaxation ("reptation") time of the dewetting polymer. Conversely, such experiments allow us to determine the reptation time of polystyrene in thin films as a function of molecular weight. Our approach opens up new possibilities for testing rheological properties of polymers confined in thin films.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physicochimie des Polymères, Materia Nova asbl, Parc Initialis, 1, Avenue N. Copernic, B-7000 Mons, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sylvain
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gabriele
authors.forename: Séverine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sclavons
authors.forename: Günter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Reiter
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Damman