Gecko-inspired composite micro-pillars with both robust adhesion and enhanced dry self-cleaning property

Abstract

Self-cleaning surfaces are desirable in many engineering applications where low energy consumption, reusability and sustainability are of the biggest concerns. Inspired by the gecko’s unique ‘dry self-cleaning’ hierarchical structures. Here we fabricated artificial Fe3O4/PDMS composites that show robust self-cleaning capabilities. The enhanced adhesion performance is attributable to the decrease of PDMS polymerization degree and the load transfer between PDMS matrix and Fe3O4 magnetic particles. The self-cleaning surfaces showed up to 24.3% self-cleaning rate with as few as 4 steps. Simulation result indicated that the changing of cross linking between Fe3O4 and PDMS is the main reason for the enhanced self-cleaning surfaces. This work reveals an alternative route of making high-performance self-cleaning smart surfaces that are applicable in the textile industry, robotic locomotion/gripping technology, outer-space explorations and tissue engineering.