Heat-induced spontaneous and damage-free separation of transparent polymer thin films based on clickable decomposition of pyrolytic core-shell nanocapsules. (March 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: An, Jongil; Kim, Soyern; Choi, Jin-Wook; Son, Seung-Rak; Park, Jisung; Park, Chan Beom; Lee, Jun Hyup
• Is Part Of: Materials today communications. Volume 30(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-03
• Subjects: Microbubbles -- Polymer thin films -- Pyrolytic nanocapsules -- Spontaneous separation -- Thermal decomposition; Materials science -- Periodicals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mtcomm.2021.103079
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2352-4928

Abstract

Abstract: The automatic and damage-free manipulation for efficient separation of polymer thin films from various substrates has received growing interests in a broad range of applications from electronic devices to optical films because it can realize the innovative recycling and on-demand spontaneous detachment of scarce and valuable materials. Herein, we demonstrate a spontaneous and damage-free separation methodology for transparent polymer thin films based on the heat-induced microbubble generation from pyrolytic core-shell nanocapsules at the interface between the substrate and the thin film. The pyrolytic polymer nanocapsules were fabricated by encapsulating a latent gas-forming agent of benzenesulfonyl hydrazine in the crosslinked copolymer nanoparticle comprising polyacrylonitrile and poly(methyl methacrylate). The heat-induced clickable decomposition of pyrolytic core-shell nanocapsules generated a significant number of microbubbles inside the thin film, thereby inducing instantaneous and effortless detachment of the transparent film from substrate. The fabricated polymer thin films embedded with a small number of pyrolytic polymer nanocapsules afforded an excellent debonding performance with a maximum efficiency of 93.4% after short thermal treatment compared to that of the pristine thin films, simultaneously maintaining a remarkable optical clarity of about 99% and a high initial adhesion strength with a maximum of approximately 22 kgf cm −2 . Graphical Abstract: ga1 Highlights: An effective and scalable strategy to spontaneously separate polymer thin films has been presented. The heat-induced decomposition of pyrolytic nanocapsules generated an internal microbubble cavitation inside the film. A spontaneous and damage-free separation of transparent thin film has been realized. The remarkable optical clarity and high initial adhesion strength of pristine film were maintained.