Biomimetic Rose Petal Structures Obtained Using UV-Nanoimprint Lithography

Abstract

This study aims to produce a hydrophobic polymer film by mimicking the hierarchical micro/nanostructures found on the surface of rose petals. A simple and two-step UV-based nanoimprint lithography was used to copy rose petal structures on the surface of a polyurethane acrylate (PUA) film. In the first step, the rose petal was used as a template, and its negative replica was fabricated on a commercial UV-curable polymer film. Following this, the negative replica was used as a stamp to produce rose petal mimetic structures on UV curable PUA film. The presence of these structures on PUA influenced the wettability behavior of PUA. Introducing the rose petal mimetic structures led the inherently hydrophilic material to display highly hydrophobic behavior. The neat PUA film showed a contact angle of 65°, while the PUA film with rose petal mimetic structures showed a contact angle of 138°. Similar to natural materials, PUA with rose petal mimetic structures also displayed the water pinning effect. The water droplet was shown to have adhered to the surface of PUA even when the surface was turned upside down.

Antibacterial surface based on hierarchical polyurethane acrylate/zinc oxide structures

“…Certain natural materials such as cicada wings and dragonfly wings, have evolved to display mechano-bactericidal behaviour due to the presence of nanostructures on their wings. 14,37 These surface nanostructures physically interact with bacterial cells, leading to their inactivation or destruction. 15,37 Researchers have also fabricated synthetic antibacterial materials by introducing nanoneedles, nanowhiskers and other nanostructures onto the surface of polymer films.…”

Recent Progress on the Use of Stimulus-Responsive Materials for Dry Adhesive Applications

“…It is used as a high-resolution patterning technique to produce high aspect ratio structures and features on the surface of polymer films. 34 Similar to the soft lithography technique, NIL process involves the replication of a nanostructured mold onto a polymer film, albeit with a higher resolution. 35 It uses a stamp with the desired nanopatterns and replicates the topography of the stamp on the surface of a polymer film.…”

“…Soft lithography is one of the most versatile techniques that has been used for fabricating micro and nanoscale structures. , It can produce intricate patterns and structures that are in the micrometer and nanometer length scale on a soft elastomeric material such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). PDMS is used due to its ease of fabrication, transparency, and elasticity.…”

Nature‐Inspired Biomimetic Surfaces for Controlling Bacterial Attachment and Biofilm Development

“…This patterning technique has found tremendous applications in fabricating bio-inspired textures on polymer films due to its ease of fabrication and ability to obtain high-resolution nanoscale textures. [13,38,65,[73][74][75] Nanoimprinting relies on using mechanical pressure along with heat or UV source on a stack of stamp and polymer film or on a polymer resist placed on a stamp/template. Natural material can be directly used as a stamp when nanoimprinting is used for the duplication of natural material's features and structures onto polymer films.…”

“…Reproduced under the terms of the CC‐BY license. [ 75 ] Copyright 2022, The Authors, published by MDPI. B) Rose petal mimetic structures fabricated on polymer film using nanoimprint lithography technique.…”