Fabrication of high aspect ratio nanostructures on 3D surfaces

A combination of different materials and processes was used to create high aspect ratio nanostructures on 3D surfaces. The high aspect ratio structures were formed on thermoplastic foils using UV-Nanoimprintlithography (UV-NIL) with a poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) stamp which was fabricated by soft lithography. An epoxy mixture with a higher glass transition temperature than the thermoplastic foil was used as a resist for UV-NIL. The hydrophobicity of structured substrates was characterized by the surface contact angle. Substrates with an additional chemical treatment were also produced and characterized. Results of contact angle measurement showed that superhydrophobic surface properties can be obtained with structured and chemically treated samples. The foils were further used as a substrate in a thermoforming process to transfer the structures into a microchannel. Using this process, 3D structured foils can be fabricated with high accuracy. The foils were used as a master structure for a replica molding process which allowed the fabrication of 3D structured polymer parts. With the presented method, microchannels with superhydrophobic surface properties can be fabricated. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.