Formation of self-organized surface structures on poly(methyl methacrylate) films: effect of two contacting metallic wires

A simple template consisting of two contacting metallic wires was developed to construct surface structures on PMMA films. Using this template, surface structures including arcs and straight stripes were formed on the surface of PMMA films via the evaporation of toluene droplets. The effect of the angle between two wires and the film thickness on the geometric characteristics of the structures formed was studied. For the same film thickness, the amplitude is approximately a linear, increasing function of the wavelength with approximately the same slope, independent of the angle between the wires. The wavelength of the surface structures increases with the film thickness for the same distance to the wire and the same angle between the wires. This technique provides a viable technique to form surface structures over a large surface area of polymer films for various applications.