Precisely controlling the topography in thin film coatings is advantageous as morphology plays a large role in surface characteristics, such as wetting and adhesion. Previously, we reported a way to fabricate nanoscale surface creases using micro-contact printing to perform post-polymerization modification (PPM) on reactive polymer brush surfaces with a high degree of control over crease size and shape. Using poly(pentafluorophenyl acrylate) brushes, surfaces that are highly susceptible to nucleophilic attack by primary amines, creases are formed upon reaction with oligomeric and polymeric amine-bearing molecules under confinement due to substantial stresses generated upon reaction and the formation of a bilayer system that contains a significant modulus mismatch. In this talk, we will report a detailed investigation of this phenomena using further analysis of the experimental variables including polymer miscibility and end-group reactivity. Isolation and manipulation of these variables provide further insight into the factors governing buckling instabilities and crease formation in reactive thin film platforms.

Controlling and manipulating crease formation in polymer brush platforms

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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