Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
2021
Department
Chemistry
Abstract
The morphology of sub-micron poly(methyl methacrylate) films coated to glass supports by spin coating from toluene is examined using surface profilometry. Wrinkled surfaces with local quasi-sinusoidal periodicity were seen on the surfaces of films with thicknesses of larger than 75 nm. The surface wrinkles had large aspect ratios with wavelengths in the tens of microns and amplitudes in the tens of nanometers. Wrinkles that formed during spin-coating are attributed to surface perturbations caused by Rayleigh–Bénard–Marangoni convective instabilities. The effects of film thickness, coating solution concentration, and drying rate on the thin film surface morphology are investigated. The results can be used to prepare surfaces with controlled morphology, either smooth or with periodic wrinkles.
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Chapman, N., Chapman, M., & Euler, W. B. (2021). Evolution of Surface Morphology of Spin-Coated Poly(methyl methacrylate) Thin Films. Polymers, 13(13), 2184. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13132184
Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13132184
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.