Abstract
Evaporation of a liquid droplet containing a thin layer of surfactants atop could generate two-dimensional buckling on surfaces. Herringbone features were produced via embedded nanoparticle beds. We assign transient surface tension as the driving force for such a phenomenon. Considering the surfactant layer as a thin elastic film, a continuum model is employed to calculate the mechanical properties of the layer. Particularly, we estimated an elastic modulus of 4 GPa for the surfactant layer, indicating rather strong mechanical properties of these small molecules when they are close packed to form supramolecules via noncovalent binding.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 223104 |
Journal | Applied Physics Letters |
Volume | 95 |
Issue number | 22 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2009 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)