Dewetting on a free-standing ideal elastomer film

The dewetting of liquids from soft surfaces offers a powerful method to probe pattern formation in systems where elasticity and capillarity compete. Here we present the dewetting of a thin polymer film on top of a free-standing elastomeric poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) film. Upon preparation, the PDMS film is a gel. To prepare a true elastomer film, the sample must be subjected to a series of solvent washes to remove uncrosslinked chains. The film is then made free-standing by transferring it from a substrate onto the surface of a water bath and subsequently onto a support washer. This system allows us to study the dewetting of a liquid polymer on a soft elastomer film without the influence of a rigid underlying substrate. We investigate the elastocapillary interactions by which droplets can interact at a distance, mediated by the elastic film.