Dewetting of a solid monolayer

TL;DR

This paper investigates the dewetting process of a solid monolayer on a substrate, analyzing pattern formation, regimes, and scaling behavior through experiments and modeling.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive analysis of dewetting regimes, pattern formation, and scaling laws in monolayer dewetting, supported by experimental and theoretical insights.

Findings

Identification of two dewetting regimes: irreversible and thermodynamic.

Quantitative measurements of dewetting front velocity and pattern wavelength.

Discovery of a scaling behavior explained by a geometrical model.

Abstract

We report on the dewetting of a monolayer on a solid substrate, where mass transport occurs via surface diffusion. For a wide range of parameters, a labyrinthine pattern of bilayer islands is formed. An irreversible regime and a thermodynamic regime are identified. In both regimes, the velocity of a dewetting front, the wavelength of the bilayer island pattern, and the rate of nucleation of dewetted zones are obtained. We also point out the existence of a scaling behavior, which is analyzed by means of a geometrical model.