Film formation and Rupture in Drying Polymer Films

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The understanding of the film formation process in drying polymer films is critical for a number of applications such as in construction, pharmaceutical Industry and semiconductor. When a thin film of dilute polymer solution is applied on a substrate, the solvent evaporates to concentrate the polymer. With increasing concentration, stresses develop in the film. If the stress exceeds a critical value, the film may rupture or delaminate from the substrate. The critical stress depends on the nature of polymer, solvent, drying rate and the adhesion of the polymer film and the substrate. While there exists a number of studies on the subject, a fundamental understanding of the various phenomena is missing.

The student who joins this project will get a chance to work on experiments and theory. Our research group has a number of industrial collaborations and the student will be exposed to industrial problems while working on the problem.

 

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