Periodically Ordered Wrinkles in Gradient Patterned Polymer Stripes

Description

Myunghwan Byun, writing alone, demonstrates a way to make ordered wrinkle patterns on striped polymer films. The 2024 paper joins two processes: controlled evaporation that lays down stripes with a gradient, and mechanical wrinkling of the surface. Such wrinkles arise in nature when bending and stretching energies compete, as in leaves that thin toward their edges.

The method yields periodic wrinkles placed where the stripes dictate, in a fast and simple process. Wrinkling also serves as a probe of the films' mechanical traits. Thin polymer membranes underpin many micro and nano devices, including semiconductor parts, where stability under stress matters. A robust route to defined wrinkle patterns gives engineers a tool for testing and for building surfaces with tuned texture.

Catalog record

Source: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC11676037