Control of droplet size and spacing in micrometer-sized polymeric dewetting patterns.
When a polymer solution is cast on a flat substrate and the solvent is allowed to evaporate, dewetting might take place. Instead of a continuous film, the polymer forms micrometer-sized droplets. By controlling the solvent casting process with the help of a roller apparatus, the size and spacing of the polymer droplets can be adjusted. We investigated the effect of polymer concentration and roller speed on the pattern dimensions and found that higher concentrations lead to larger polymer droplets (from 1 to 11 microm), whereas faster roller speeds lead to a wider interdroplet spacing (from 4 to 130 microm).
Karthaus
Olaf
O
Department of Photonic Materials, Faculty of Photonics Science, Chitose Institute of Science and Technology, Bibi 65-758, Chitose 066-8655, Hokkaido, Japan. karthaus@photon.chitose.ac.jp
Mikami
Suguru
S
Hashimoto
Yuichi
Y