Article
Scalable Stamp Printing and Fabrication of Hemiwicking Surfaces
Journal of Visualized Experiments
(2018)
Abstract
Hemiwicking is a process where a fluid wets a patterned surface beyond its normal wetting length due to a combination of capillary action and imbibition. This wetting phenomenon is important in many technical fields ranging from physiology to aerospace engineering. Currently, several different techniques exist for fabricating hemiwicking structures. These conventional methods, however, are often time consuming and are difficult to scale-up for large areas or are difficult to customize for specific, nonhomogeneous patterning geometries. The presented protocol provides researchers with a simple, scalable, and cost-effective method for fabricating micro-patterned hemiwicking surfaces. The method fabricates wicking structures through the use of stamp printing, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) molding, and thin-film surface coatings. The protocol is demonstrated for hemiwicking with ethanol on PDMS micropillar arrays coated with a 70 nm thick aluminum thin-film.
Disciplines
Publication Date
Summer August 22, 2018
Citation Information
Thomas Germain, Chance Brewer, James Scott and Shawn Putnam. "Scalable Stamp Printing and Fabrication of Hemiwicking Surfaces" Journal of Visualized Experiments (2018) ISSN: JoVE58546R1 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/chance-brewer/1/