Mesoscale morphologies in polymer thin films

In the midst of an exciting era of polymer nanoscience, where the development of materials and understanding of properties at the nanoscale remain a major R&D endeavor, there are several exciting phenomena that have been reported at the mesoscale (approximately an order of magnitude larger than the nanoscale). In this review article, we focus on mesoscale morphologies in polymer thin films from the viewpoint of origination of structure formation, structure development and the interaction forces that govern these morphologies. Mesoscale morphologies, including dendrites, holes, spherulites, fractals and honeycomb structures have been observed in thin films of homopolymer, copolymer, blends and composites. Following a largely phenomenological level of description, we review the kinetic and thermodynamic aspects of mesostructure formation outlining some of the key mechanisms at play. We also discuss various strategies to direct, limit, or inhibit the appearance of mesostructures in polymer thin films as well as an outlook toward potential areas of growth in this field of research.