Fabrication and analysis of gecko-inspired hierarchical polymer nanosetae

A gecko's superb ability to adhere to surfaces is widely credited to the large attachment area of the hierarchical and fibrillar structure on its feet. The combination of these two features provides the necessary compliance for the gecko toe-pad to effectively engage a high percentage of the spatulae at each step to any kind of surface topography. With the use of multi-tiered porous anodic alumina template and capillary force assisted nanoimprinting, we have successfully fabricated a gecko-inspired hierarchical topography of branched nanopillars on a stiff polymer. We also demonstrated that the hierarchical topography improved the shear adhesion force over a topography of linear structures by 150%. A systematic analysis to understand the phenomenon was performed. It was determined that the effective stiffness of the hierarchical branched structure was lower than that of the linear structure. The reduction in effective stiffness favored a more efficient bending of the branched topography and a better compliance to a test surface, hence resulting in a higher area of residual deformation. As the area of residual deformation increased, the shear adhesion force emulated. The branched pillar topography also showed a marked increase in hydrophobicity, which is an essential property in the practical applications of these structures for good self-cleaning in dry adhesion conditions.