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Chinese Physics, 2006, Vol. 15(1): 172-176    DOI: 10.1088/1009-1963/15/1/027
CONDENSED MATTER: STRUCTURAL, MECHANICAL, AND THERMAL PROPERTIES Prev   Next  

Effects of dispersion forces in the instability of polymer films

Zhao He-Ping (赵鹤平)ab, Tsui Ophelia K. C.c, Liu Zheng-You (刘正猷)a 
a Department of Physics, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China; b Department of Physics, Jishou University, Jishou 416000, China; c Department of Physics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
Abstract  Spontaneous rupture of some polymer films upon heating is commonplace. The very criterion for this instability is the system free energy possessing a negative curvature. Within the framework of full frequency-dependent theory of dispersion forces, we have derived the excess free energy of a typical system---polystyrene film deposited on the silicon substrate. The excess free energy, wavelengths and growth rates are calculate and a comparison is made between the accurate results and the approximate results. It is found that the stability of the film can be tuned by the variation of the thickness of the coating and the retardation effects can be significant sometimes.
Keywords:  liquid thin film      interfacial instability      excess freeenergy  
Received:  18 March 2005      Revised:  16 May 2005      Accepted manuscript online: 
PACS:  61.41.+e (Polymers, elastomers, and plastics)  
  68.55.-a (Thin film structure and morphology)  
  68.60.Dv (Thermal stability; thermal effects)  
Fund: Project supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hu'nan Province, China (Grant No 00JJY2072), and the Foundation of Educational Committee of Hu'nan Province, China (Grant Nos 00C189 and 01B019).

Cite this article: 

Zhao He-Ping (赵鹤平), Tsui Ophelia K. C., Liu Zheng-You (刘正猷) Effects of dispersion forces in the instability of polymer films 2006 Chinese Physics 15 172

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