Accession Number:

ADA576542

Title:

Swelling-Induced Folding in Confined Nanoscale Responsive Polymer Gels

Descriptive Note:

Journal article

Corporate Author:

GEORGIA INST OF TECH ATLANTA SCHOOL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Personal Author(s):

• Singamaneni, Srikanth
• McConney, Michael E.
• Tsukruk, Vladimir V.

Report Date:

2010-03-16

Pagination or Media Count:

12.0

Abstract:

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.

Descriptors:

• *FOLDING
• *GELS
• *POLYMERS
• BUCKLING
• TOPOLOGY

Subject Categories:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Miscellaneous Materials

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE