Electro-capillary peeling of thin films

Thin films are widely-used functional materials that have attracted much interest in academic and industrial applications. With thin films becoming micro/nanoscale, developing a simple and nondestructive peeling method for transferring and reusing the films remains a major challenge. Here, we develop an electro-capillary peeling strategy that achieves thin film detachment by driving liquid to percolate and spread into the bonding layer under electric fields, immensely reducing the deformation and strain of the film compared with traditional methods (reaching 86%). Our approach is evaluated via various applied voltages and films, showing active control characterizations and being appropriate for a broad range of films. Theoretically, electro-capillary peeling is achieved by utilizing the Maxwell stress to compete with the film’s adhesion stress and tension stress. This work shows the great potential of the electro-capillary peeling method to provide a simple way to transfer films and facilitates valid avenues for reusing soft materials.