Hierarchical wrinkles and oscillatory cracks in metal films deposited on liquid stripes

Fascinating crack and wrinkle patterns driven by stresses are ubiquitous in natural and artificial systems. It is of great interest to control the morphologies of stress-driven patterns by using facile techniques. Here we report on the spontaneous formation of hierarchical wrinkles and oscillatory cracks in metal films deposited on liquid (or soft polymer) stripes. It is found that the metal film is under a tensile stress during deposition owing to the thermal expansion of the liquid substrate. As the film thickness is beyond a critical value, oscillatory cracks with sawtoothlike shapes form on the liquid stripes. The ratio of crack oscillation period to amplitude is independent of the stripe width and film material, which can be well explained by the "brittle adhesive joints" model. After deposition, the metal film is under a compressive stress, which is relieved by formation of various wrinkle patterns. Hierarchical wrinkles with changing wavelengths form near the stripe edge while labyrinth or wavy wrinkles form at the center. Energy analysis was adopted to explain the formation and evolution of the wrinkle patterns. This study could promote better understanding of the formations of crack and wrinkle patterns in constrained film structures and controllable fabrication of stress-driven patterns by prefabricating liquid (or soft polymer) interlayer arrays.