Surface properties of bionic micro-pillar arrays with various shapes of tips

► A facile strategy was reported to fabricate gecko-inspired micro-pillar arrays. ► The spatular, spherical and concave tips were obtained. ► Spatular tips are helpful for adhesion enhancement of micro-pillar arrays. ► The shape of tip controls the contact angles of water droplets on the interface. Gecko-inspired micro-pillar arrays with various tip structures including spatular, spherical and concave tips were fabricated by a facile soft-molding method. The tip structures of micro-pillar arrays strongly depend on different curing processes in soft-molding using the same template. The adhesion and the wetting properties of these micro-pillar arrays are investigated by means of triboindenter and optical contact angle measurement. The results suggest that the surface properties are determined by different tip structures of micro-pillars. The spatular tip and concave tip are helpful for the adhesion enhancement and the shape of tip can control the contact angles and stabilities of water droplets on the micro-pillar arrays. In addition, the procedures demonstrate that the present route to fabricate gecko-inspired micro-pillar arrays with various tip structures is reliable and convenient. We believe that this research may pave the road to further understanding the gecko-inspired attachment systems and designing new artificial structures for dry adhesives.