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The memory of thin polymer films generated by spin coating
Günter Reiter1, Farzad Ramezani2, Jörg Baschnagel3
1Institute of Physics, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, 79104, Freiburg, Germany. guenter.reiter@physik.uni-freiburg.de.
The European Physical Journal. E, Soft Matter
|May 25, 2022
Summary
Polymer films prepared via spin coating and crumpling exhibit shrinkage due to residual stress. This study reveals generic "forgetting" mechanisms in polymers, where they lose memory of past processing events, similar to melt-spun fibers.
Area of Science:
- Polymer Science
- Materials Science
- Rheology
Background:
- Thin polymer films often retain residual stresses after preparation.
- Understanding polymer relaxation and shrinkage is crucial for material applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the shrinkage and relaxation behavior of polystyrene filaments derived from spin-coated and crumpled films.
- Explore the influence of preparation conditions and annealing on these properties.
- Compare relaxation mechanisms with other polymer processing methods.
Main Methods:
- Isothermal and temperature-sweep creep experiments on polymer filaments.
- Analysis of temporal evolution of shrinkage at various temperatures.
- Investigation of the temperature dependence of relaxation.
Main Results:
- Filaments showed significant time- and temperature-dependent shrinkage due to residual stresses.
- Identified distinct relaxation regimes during shrinkage.
- Observed striking similarities in shrinkage magnitudes between crumpled film filaments and drawn melt-spun fibers.
Conclusions:
- Suggests the existence of generic polymer
- forgetting
- mechanisms, independent of specific preparation pathways.
- Non-equilibrated polymers lose memory of past processing events through universal relaxation processes.
