Thermoresponsive chemical connectors based on hybrid nanowire forests.

摘要: Microand nanostructured surfaces found in biological systems have inspired the fabrication of functional materials with unique optical, chemical, and mechanical properties. Inspired by nanofibrillar structures gecko adhesives, we recently reported self-selective, chemical connectors (i.e., fasteners) based on interpenetrating nanowire (NW) forests, which primarily use highly tunable van der Waals (vdW) interactions to enable efficient binding components at both macroand microscales. Of particular interest certain practical applications are programmable fasteners that can change their adhesion properties command, for example, response external stimuli. In this regard, herein, report NW reversibly wet strength a thermal environment. The thermoresponsive core/multishell hybrid forests an outer shell poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM). PNIPAM is hydrogel lower critical solution temperature (LCST) approximately 32 8C water. Specifically, room temperature, absorbs water, resulting swelling polymer hydrophilic surface However, shrinks temperatures higher than LCSTand transforms hydrophobic state. We utilized well known property conjunction high aspect ratio procedure outlined Figure 1a. First, Ge/parylene core/ were prepared growing Ge