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Polystyrene thin films in CO(2).

Luciana Meli¹, Joseph Q Pham, Keith P Johnston

¹Department of Chemical Engineering and Texas Material Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA.

Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics

|July 13, 2004

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Liquid polystyrene (PS) thin films are unstable in air but show improved structural stability in supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2). The rate of destabilization in CO2 depends on film thickness, temperature, and CO2 pressure.

Area of Science:

Materials Science
Polymer Physics
Surface Science

Background:

Liquid polystyrene (PS) thin films on SiOx/Si substrates are prone to dewetting in air or vacuum due to van der Waals forces.
Understanding thin film stability is crucial for applications in nanotechnology and materials engineering.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the structural stability of liquid PS thin films in supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) environments.
To compare the dewetting behavior of PS films in CO2 with that in air.

Main Methods:

Scanning force microscopy (SFM) was employed to analyze PS films with thicknesses ranging from 5 nm to 100 nm.
Experiments were conducted in both liquid and supercritical CO2 environments.

Main Results:

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All PS films in the studied thickness range exhibited metastability in supercritical CO2.
Hole nucleation and growth were observed, leading to droplet formation over time.
The rate of destabilization was found to be dependent on film thickness, temperature, and CO2 pressure.

Conclusions:

Supercritical CO2 environments offer enhanced structural stability for liquid PS thin films compared to air.
The energy barrier for hole formation is higher in CO2, suggesting potential for stable thin film formation under specific conditions.