The patterning of surface structures is a critical step for interfacial engineering applications that are based on soft lithography, casting, or imprinting techniques in general. However, photolithography and mold/die fabrication processes are expensive and time-consuming. To solve this problem, we developed a novel laser-based process that exploits the high stretchability of a polymer. In this study, continuous-wave laser-induced pyrolysis was conducted on a pre-stretched Ecoflex polymer substrate to obtain a controllable hydrophobic surface with functional structures at the micro/nanoscale, which were constructed via the facile removal of pyrolytic byproducts. Under the optimum strain rate and laser parameters, periodic wrinkle generation and a proportional channel pitch reduction were observed, which provided hierarchical micro/nanostructures and enlarged the air gaps between the target droplet and the hydrophobic structures. The processed surface exhibited improved hydrophobic properties (WCA ~ 135°) compared with a flat Ecoflex polymer surface (WCA ~ 105°). Thus, a facile manufacturing method for stretchable polymer substrates with hydrophobic patterned surfaces is proposed.

对于通常基于软光刻，浇铸或压印技术的界面工程应用，表面结构的图案化是至关重要的一步。然而，光刻和模具/模具制造工艺昂贵且耗时。为了解决这个问题，我们开发了一种新颖的基于激光的工艺，该工艺利用了聚合物的高拉伸性。在这项研究中，在预拉伸的Ecoflex聚合物基材上进行了连续波激光诱导的热解，以得到可控制的疏水表面，该表面具有微米/纳米级的功能结构，这些表面是通过轻松去除热解副产物而构建的。在最佳应变率和激光参数下，观察到周期性的皱纹产生和相应的通道间距减小，它提供了分层的微观/纳米结构，并扩大了目标液滴和疏水结构之间的气隙。与平坦的Ecoflex聚合物表面（WCA〜105°）相比，加工后的表面表现出改善的疏水性（WCA〜135°）。因此，提出了一种用于制造具有疏水性图案化表面的可拉伸聚合物基材的简便方法。