Glass transition at interfaces

¹ Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie Théoorique, UMR CNRS Gulliver 7083, ESPCI Paris, PSL Research University, 75005 Paris, France
² Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, ON N2L 2Y5, Canada
³ Global Station for Soft Matter, Global Institution for Collaborative Research and Education, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0808, Japan
⁴ Laboratoire de Physique Statistique, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 75005 Paris, France
⁵ Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4M1, Canada
⁶ Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada

Abstract

We live in the twenty-first century. Almost all the changes between phases of matter are described by the theory of phase transitions. Yet, there is one phenomenon that still resists theoretical attempts at its description: the glass transition. Moreover, signatures of the glass transition seem to be modified in thin polymer films. These observations may provide insights into the detailed mechanisms of the transition and guide the use of thin films through promising applications. It thus appears crucial to understand the effects of confinement and interfaces on the glass transition.