Making molecular balloons in laser-induced explosive boiling of polymer solutions.
The effect of the dynamic molecular rearrangements leading to compositional segregation is revealed in coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of short pulse laser interaction with a polymer solution in a volatile matrix. An internal release of matrix vapor at the onset of the explosive boiling of the overheated liquid is capable of pushing polymer molecules to the outskirts of a transient bubble, forming a polymer-rich surface layer enclosing the volatile matrix material. The results explain unexpected "deflated balloon" structures observed in films deposited by the matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation technique.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Virginia, 395 McCormick Road, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4745, USA.
Elodie
E
Leveugle
Aaron
A
Sellinger
James M
JM
Fitz-Gerald
Leonid V
LV
Zhigilei