Biomimetic functional surfaces

Eduard Arzt

INM – Leibniz Institute for New Materials and Saarland University, Saarbruecken, Germany

Abstract:

3D micropatterning of surfaces signifies a recent paradigm change for control of surface functionalities: the exploitation of judiciously designed surface protrusions, “fibrils” and other features at the micron scale – as in insects, spiders and geckos – to create fundamentally new degrees of freedom for mechanical and other surface functions. We have investigated the natural example in real geckos and derived the main principle of temporary adhesion: that of “contact splitting” according to which fine microcontacts increase adhesion by intermolecular forces. Our current emphasis is on controlling adhesion and friction, which is of great potential interest in microfabrication, construction industry, and sports equipment. Such developments require modeling and simulation activities which help understand the micromechanics of patterned adhesion and identify optimum parameters in a vast parameter space.

This talk will summarize our recent developments in producing bio-inspired micropatterned polymer surfaces: i) design of active surfaces that exploit a transition from an adhesive to non-adhesive state and including first implementation in active pick-and-place systems, and ii) our recent developments in producing functional surfaces for interaction with soft materials, such as human skin. Existing models and challenges for future modeling and simulation activities in this promising research area will be highlighted.

References [1] E. Arzt, S. Gorb, R. Spolenak, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 100, 2003, 10603 (2003) [2] C. Greiner, A. del Campo, E. Arzt, Langmuir 23, 3495-3502 (2007) [3] J.S. Kaiser, M. Kamperman, E.J. De Souza, B. Schick, E. Arzt, J. Artif. Organs 34, 180-184 (2011) [4] A. del Campo and E. Arzt (eds.), Generating Micro and Nanopatterns on Polymeric Materials, Wiley 2011 [5] R. M. McMeeking, E. Arzt, A. G. Evans, J Adhesion 84, 675-681 (2008) [6] R. McMeeking, L. Ma, E. Arzt, Adv Eng Mats, 12, 389-397 (2010) [7] D. Paretkar, M.D. Bartlett, R.M. McMeeking, AJ Crosby, E Arzt, J Adhesion 89, 140-158 (2013)

Bio:

Scientific Director of INM – Leibniz Institute for New Materials, Saarbruecken, Germany; Professor at Saarland University. PhD in physics, University of Vienna, 1980. Postdoc, Cambridge University, UK. Director, Max Planck Institute for Metals Research (now Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems), Professor of Metals Physics at the University of Stuttgart (1990-2007). Visiting research: Stanford University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; University of California, Santa Barbara and San Diego; Technion, Haifa, Israel. Awards: Max Planck Research Award, Acta Materialia Outstanding Paper Award, Leibniz Prize, Advanced Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). Member, Austrian Academy of Sciences; German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. Highly cited materials scientist. Editor, Progress in Materials Science.