TY - JOUR
T1 - Swelling-induced folding in confined nanoscale responsive polymer gels
AU - Singamaneni, Srikanth
AU - McConney, Michael E.
AU - Tsukruk, Vladimir V.
PY - 2010/4/27
Y1 - 2010/4/27
N2 - Mechanical instabilities such as buckling, wrinkling, creasing, and folding are commonplace in both natural and synthetic systems over a wide range of length scales. In this study, we focus on the spontaneous folding behavior of the highly swellable confined nanoscale (thickness below 100 nm) gel films resulting in the formation of a network of regularly folded structures spontaneously emerging in the course of their swelling and drying. We suggest that regular self-folding is originated from periodic instabilities (wrinkles) caused by swelling-initiated stresses under confined conditions. Furthermore, folded gel structures can be organized into regular serpentine-like manner by imposing various boundary conditions on microimprinted surfaces. We suggest that this demonstration of uniform gel to mechanically mediate morphogenesis has far-reaching implications in the creation of complex, large-area, 3D gel nanostructures.
AB - Mechanical instabilities such as buckling, wrinkling, creasing, and folding are commonplace in both natural and synthetic systems over a wide range of length scales. In this study, we focus on the spontaneous folding behavior of the highly swellable confined nanoscale (thickness below 100 nm) gel films resulting in the formation of a network of regularly folded structures spontaneously emerging in the course of their swelling and drying. We suggest that regular self-folding is originated from periodic instabilities (wrinkles) caused by swelling-initiated stresses under confined conditions. Furthermore, folded gel structures can be organized into regular serpentine-like manner by imposing various boundary conditions on microimprinted surfaces. We suggest that this demonstration of uniform gel to mechanically mediate morphogenesis has far-reaching implications in the creation of complex, large-area, 3D gel nanostructures.
KW - Mechanical instabilities
KW - Nanoimprinting
KW - Polymer gels
KW - Responsive polymer
KW - Spontaneous folding
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77951738744&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/nn901886y
DO - 10.1021/nn901886y
M3 - Article
C2 - 20232813
AN - SCOPUS:77951738744
SN - 1936-0851
VL - 4
SP - 2327
EP - 2337
JO - ACS nano
JF - ACS nano
IS - 4
ER -