Polymeric Solvents Control Swelling-Induced Surface Creasing
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arXiv
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| Auteurs principaux: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Publié: |
2026
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| _version_ | 1866908986148651008 |
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| author | Jiang, Zechao Ding, Zhaoyu Yang, Shaohua Xu, Ye Guan, Dongshi Maali, Abdelhamid Mcgraw, Joshua D Salez, Thomas Zhang, Zaicheng Man, Xingkun |
| author_facet | Jiang, Zechao Ding, Zhaoyu Yang, Shaohua Xu, Ye Guan, Dongshi Maali, Abdelhamid Mcgraw, Joshua D Salez, Thomas Zhang, Zaicheng Man, Xingkun |
| contents | Surface creasing in swelling polymer gels is commonly attributed to compressive strain or interlayer mismatch, yet its general control remains unclear. Here we show that solvent polymerization degree $N_{\rm s}$ provides an independent control parameter for crease onset in surface-bound polydimethylsiloxane gels swollen by silicone oils. Despite nearly identical swelling kinetics and through-thickness solvent concentration profiles, we observe a transition from creased to stable surfaces with increasing $N_{\rm s}$. A theory coupling swelling thermodynamics and mechanical stability reveals that polymeric solvents reduce the mixing entropy and thereby modify the osmotic pressure, allowing $N_{\rm s}$ to tune separately the equilibrium swelling and the crease threshold. This framework captures the stability boundary across solvent polymerization degree and network elasticity. These results identify polymeric solvents as active thermodynamic-mechanical regulators of swelling-induced surface. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_20299 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Polymeric Solvents Control Swelling-Induced Surface Creasing Jiang, Zechao Ding, Zhaoyu Yang, Shaohua Xu, Ye Guan, Dongshi Maali, Abdelhamid Mcgraw, Joshua D Salez, Thomas Zhang, Zaicheng Man, Xingkun Soft Condensed Matter Classical Physics Surface creasing in swelling polymer gels is commonly attributed to compressive strain or interlayer mismatch, yet its general control remains unclear. Here we show that solvent polymerization degree $N_{\rm s}$ provides an independent control parameter for crease onset in surface-bound polydimethylsiloxane gels swollen by silicone oils. Despite nearly identical swelling kinetics and through-thickness solvent concentration profiles, we observe a transition from creased to stable surfaces with increasing $N_{\rm s}$. A theory coupling swelling thermodynamics and mechanical stability reveals that polymeric solvents reduce the mixing entropy and thereby modify the osmotic pressure, allowing $N_{\rm s}$ to tune separately the equilibrium swelling and the crease threshold. This framework captures the stability boundary across solvent polymerization degree and network elasticity. These results identify polymeric solvents as active thermodynamic-mechanical regulators of swelling-induced surface. |
| title | Polymeric Solvents Control Swelling-Induced Surface Creasing |
| topic | Soft Condensed Matter Classical Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.20299 |