Issue 18, 2024

Spatiotemporal mapping of nanotopography and thickness transitions of ultrathin foam films

Abstract

Freshly formed soap films, soap bubbles, or foam films display iridescent colors due to thin film interference that changes as squeeze flow drives drainage and a progressive decrease in film thickness. Ultrathin (thickness <100 nm) freestanding films of soft matter containing micelles, particles, polyelectrolyte–surfactant complexes, or other supramolecular structures or liquid crystalline phases display drainage via stratification. A fascinating array of thickness variations and transitions, including stepwise thinning and coexistence of thick–thin flat regions, arise in micellar foam films that undergo drainage via stratification. In this tutorial, we describe the IDIOM (interferometry digital imaging optical microscopy) protocols that combine the conventional interferometry principle with digital filtration and image analysis to obtain nanometer accuracy for thickness determination while having high spatial and temporal resolution. We provide fully executable image analysis codes and algorithms for the analysis of nanotopography and summarize some of the unique insights obtained for stratified micellar foam films.

Graphical abstract: Spatiotemporal mapping of nanotopography and thickness transitions of ultrathin foam films

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Tutorial Review
Submitted
12 Sun 2024
Accepted
09 Dzi 2024
First published
10 Dzi 2024

Soft Matter, 2024,20, 3719-3727

Spatiotemporal mapping of nanotopography and thickness transitions of ultrathin foam films

C. Xu, Y. Zhang and V. Sharma, Soft Matter, 2024, 20, 3719 DOI: 10.1039/D4SM00048J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements