Fabrication of a gecko-like hierarchical fibril array using a bonded porous alumina template

We report a new method to fabricate a hierarchical microfibril array by using bonded porous alumina templates. The fabrication approach extends a powerful and well-established technique of creating porous alumina to create a polymer multilevel structure, mimicking the hierarchical structure of gecko adhesive foot hairs. The nanoporous alumina ( pore diameter approximate to 60 nm; interpore distance approximate to 100 nm) was generated by the anodization of an aluminum film in an oxalic acid solution. The microporous alumina was produced by exploiting the parallel wafer-scale processing of conventional lithography and anisotropic chemical etching of the thick film of anodic alumina pores. The micro- and nanoporous alumina membranes were subsequently brought into intimate contact and their bonding was accomplished by means of capillary forces and then van der Waals bonding. Hierarchical polymeric microfibrils ( fibril diameter approximate to 10 mu m; fibril length approximate to 70 mu m) with nanofibril arrays at their tips were obtained after depositing a desired material into the pores and selective etching of the template membranes. The nanofibril has a lateral dimension of approximately 60 nm with length-to-diameter aspect ratios as high as 100:1.