Spontaneous formation of linearly arranged microcraters on sol-gel-derived silica-poly(vinylpyrrolidone) hybrid films induced by Bénard-Marangoni convection.

Complex, sophisticated surface patterns on micrometer and nanometer scales are obtained when solvent evaporates from solutions containing nonvolatile solutes dropped on a solid substrate. Such evaporation-driven pattern formation has been utilized as a fabrication process of highly ordered patterns in thin films. Here, we suggested the spontaneous pattern formation induced by Bénard-Marangoni convection triggered by solvent evaporation as a novel patterning process of sol-gel-derived organic-inorganic hybrid films.