Satellite hole formation during dewetting: experiment and simulation

Abstract

The dewetting of thin polymer films on solid substrates has been studiedextensively in recent years. These films can decay either by nucleation events orby spinodal dewetting, essentially only depending on the interface potentialdescribing the short- and long-range intermolecular interactions between theinterfaces and the initial film thickness. Here, we describe experiments andsimulations concerned with the decay of polystyrene thin films. The rupture of thefilm occurs by the formation of a correlated pattern of holes (‘satellite holes’)along the liquid rims accumulating at the channel borders. The development ofthis complex film rupture process, which is neither simply spinodal nornucleation dewetting, can be mimicked precisely by making use of a novelsimulation code based on a rigorous mathematical treatment of the thinfilm equation and on the knowledge of the effective interface potentialof the system. The conditions that determine the appearance and theposition of the satellite holes around pre-existing holes are discussed.