Comprehensive Analysis of Dewetting Profiles to Quantify Hydrodynamic Slip

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method using AFM to analyze dewetting rim profiles for quantifying slip lengths in thin polymer films, revealing how slip varies with viscosity and surface treatment.

Contribution

It presents a novel approach combining rim profile analysis and lubrication modeling to measure slip length in polymer films, linking molecular interactions to macroscopic slip behavior.

Findings

Slip length increases with viscosity.

Silanization type affects slip length.

Method enables detailed slip characterization.

Abstract

Hydrodynamic slip of Newtonian liquids is a new phenomenon, the origin of which is not yet clarified. There are various direct and indirect techniques to measure slippage. Here we describe a method to characterize the influence of slippage on the shape of rims surrounding growing holes in thin polymer films. Atomic force microscopy is used to study the shape of the rim; by analyzing its profile and applying an appropriate lubrication model we are able to determine the slip length for polystyrene films. In the experiments we study polymer films below the entanglement length that dewet from hydrophobized (silanized) surfaces. We show that the slip length at the solid/liquid interface increases with increasing viscosity. The correlation between viscosity and slip length is dependent on the type of silanization. This indicates a link between the molecular mechanism of the interaction of polymer chains and silane molecules under flow conditions that we will discuss in detail.