Adhesion of bioinspired micropatterned surfaces: effects of pillar radius, aspect ratio, and preload

Inspired by biological attachment systems, micropatterned elastomeric surfaces with pillars of different heights (between 2.5 and 80 microm) and radii (between 2.5 and 25 microm) were fabricated. Their adhesion properties were systematically tested and compared with flat controls. Micropatterned surfaces with aspect ratios above 0.5 were found to be more compliant than flat surfaces. The adhesion significantly increases with decreasing pillar radius and increasing aspect ratio of the patterned features. A preload dependence of the adhesion force has been identified and demonstrated to be crucial for obtaining adhesives with tunable adherence.