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Superhydrophobic and Self-cleaning Macrosize Surfaces of Silicone Rubber and Its Mechanical Flexibility

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Abstract

Biologically inspired superhydrophobic and self-cleaning surfaces similar to a lotus leaf are of great interest for waterproof passivation in electronics as well as the different types of device applications, such as microfluidics and bacteria controls. This study describes quick one-step laser-treated superhydrophobic and self-cleaning surfaces of elastomer silicone rubber and its mechanical flexibility. By studying the contact and sliding angles with different geometries of silicone rubber and tensile strain conditions, models to realize superhydrophobic and self-cleaning surfaces are discussed. Additionally, a microfluidic valve as a proof-of-concept application to a total analysis system is demonstrated in addition to the application of waterproof passivation layer. Because this approach is a simple method, it has great potential for practical applications.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partially supported by the Mazda Foundation, the Foundation Advanced Technology Institute (ATI), and the JSPS KAKENHI Grant (#25889048).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Osaka Prefecture University, 1-1 Gakuen-cho Naka-ku, Sakai, Osaka, 599-8531, Japan

    Shingo Harada, Takayuki Arie, Seiji Akita & Kuniharu Takei

Authors
  1. Shingo Harada
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  2. Takayuki Arie
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  3. Seiji Akita
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  4. Kuniharu Takei
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kuniharu Takei.

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Harada, S., Arie, T., Akita, S. et al. Superhydrophobic and Self-cleaning Macrosize Surfaces of Silicone Rubber and Its Mechanical Flexibility. BioNanoSci. 4, 301–305 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12668-014-0146-5

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