A material approach to fabricate a large-area hierarchical structure array is presented. The replica molding and oxygen (O2) plasma etching processes were combined to fabricate a large-area hierarchical structure array. Liquid blends consisting of siliconized silsesquioxane acrylate (Si-SSQA), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA), and photoinitiator are developed as a roughness amplifying material during O2 plasma etching. Microstructures composed of the Si-SSQA/EGDMA mixtures are fabricated by replica molding. Nanoscale roughness on molded microstructures is realized by O2 etching. The nanoscale roughness on microstructures is efficiently controlled by varying the etching time and the weight ratio of Si-SSQA to EGDMA. The hierarchical structures fabricated by combining replica molding and O2 plasma etching showed superhydrophilicity with long-term stability, resulting in the formation of hydroxyl-terminated silicon oxide layer with the reorientation limit. On the other hand, the hierarchical structures modified with a perfluorinated monolayer showed superhydrophobicity. The increment of water contact angles is consistent with increment of the nano/microroughness of hierarchical structures and decrement of the top contact area of water/hierarchical structures.
Keywords: hierarchical structures; large-area production; oxygen plasma etching; replica molding; silsesquioxane; superhydrophilicity; superhydrophobicity.