Fabrication of Self-Wrinkling Polymer Films with Tunable Patterns through an Interfacial-Fuming-Induced Surface Instability Process

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Vol. 20; no. 19; p. e2311679
• Main Authors: Chen, Yi-Chen, Luo, Ying-Wei, Huang, Ching-Yu, Li, Yan-Lin, Chen, Ting-Lun, Xu, Ting-Yu, Hsueh, Han-Yu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.05.2024
• Subjects: Compressive properties; Cyanoacrylates; Electronegativity; Interface stability; Microfluidics; Morphology; Operating temperature; Optical components; Polyethyl cyanoacrylate; Polymer films; Polymerization; Process controls; Substrates; Surface stability; wrinkles; ethyl cyanoacrylate; fuming; patterns; interfacial polymerization
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.202311679

Inspired by the superglue fuming method for fingerprint collection, this study developed a novel interfacial-fuming-induced surface instability process to generate wrinkled patterns on polymeric substrates. High-electronegativity groups are introduced on the substrate surface to initiate the polymerization of monomer vapors, such as ethyl cyanoacrylate, which results in the formation of a stiff poly(ethyl cyanoacrylate) capping layer. Moreover, interfacial polymerization resulted in the covalent bonding of the substrate, which led to the volumetric shrinkage of the composite and the accumulation of compressive strain. This process ultimately resulted in the development and stabilization of wrinkled surface morphologies. The authors systematically examined parameters such as the modulus of the epoxy substrate, prestrain, the flow rate of fuming, and operating temperature. The aforementioned technique can be easily applied to architectures with complex outer morphologies and inner surfaces, thereby enabling the construction of surface patterns under ambient conditions without vacuum limitations or precise process control. This study is the first to combine fuming-induced interfacial polymerization with surface instability to create robust wrinkles. The proposed method enables the fabrication of intricate microwrinkled patterns and has considerable potential for use in various practical applications, including microfluidics, optical components, bioinspired adhesive devices, and interfacial engineering.