Making Nonsticky Surfaces of Sticky Materials: Self-Organized Microtexturing of Viscoelastic Elastomeric Layers by Tearing.

Fabrication of large area, multiscale microtextured surfaces engineered for antiadhesion properties remains a challenge. Compared to an elastic surface, viscoelastic solids show much higher surface stickiness, tack, and adhesion owing to the increased contact area and energy dissipation. Here, we show a simple, low cost, large-area and high throughput method with roll-to-roll compatibility to fabricate multiscale, rough microstructures resistant to adhesion in a viscoelastic layer by controlled tearing of viscous film. Even a high adhesive strength viscoelastic solid layer, such as partially cured PDMS, is made nonsticky simply by its controlled tearing. The torn surface shows a fracture induced, self-organized leaflike micropattern resistant to sticking. The topography and adhesion strength of these structures are readily tuned by changing the tearing speed and the film thickness. The microtexture displays a springlike recovery, low adhesive strength, and easy release properties even under the high applied loads.

Cavity shape transformation during peeling on elastic microchannel-patterned substrates filled with a viscous liquid.

Inspired by the detachment mechanics of natural adhesive pads, we studied the change in cavity shape during peel tests on a 10% cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastic microchannel filled with 1% cross-linked viscous PDMS liquid (patterned bilayer). During peeling, we explored cavity shape as a function of microchannel dimensions and correlated the dimensionless cavity shape factor (CSF) and characteristic stress decay length, K-1. The peel test on the liquid-filled elastic microchannel shows three distinct cavity-shape regimes, elliptical, circular, and binary, based on the values of CSF and K-1. Such cavity formation and shape regimes could be important for improving the design of pressure-sensitive adhesives.