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Crack‐Free, Soft Wrinkles Enable Switchable Anisotropic Wetting
Author(s) -
Rhee Dongjoon,
Lee WonKyu,
Odom Teri W.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201701968
Subject(s) - wrinkle , materials science , composite material , elastomer , delamination (geology) , wetting , anisotropy , layer (electronics) , optics , paleontology , physics , subduction , tectonics , biology
Soft skin layers on elastomeric substrates are demonstrated to support mechano‐responsive wrinkle patterns that do not exhibit cracking under applied strain. Soft fluoropolymer skin layers on pre‐strained poly(dimethylsiloxane) slabs achieved crack‐free surface wrinkling at high strain regimes not possible by using conventional stiff skin layers. A side‐by‐side comparison between the soft and hard skin layers after multiple cycles of stretching and releasing revealed that the soft skin layer enabled dynamic control over wrinkle topography without cracks or delamination. We systematically characterized the evolution of wrinkle wavelength, amplitude, and orientation as a function of tensile strain to resolve the crack‐free structural transformation. We demonstrated that wrinkled surfaces can guide water spreading along wrinkle orientation, and hence switchable, anisotropic wetting was realized.