Crosslinker and catalyst as silicone elastomer bonding enhancers: applications to fabrication of hybrid electrostatic/gecko-like adhesives

Bonding silicone elastomers is one of the largest challenges in microfabrication. Various strategies have been suggested, such as surface activation by oxygen plasma and bonding using partially cured elastomers. However, there is no universal method capable of bonding various commercially available elastomers. In this paper, we evaluate silicone crosslinker and catalyst as bonding enhancers. We demonstrate that these materials can be used to bond multiple commercially available elastomers, even a week after their moulding. Moreover, we demonstrate the applicability of such bonding enhancers to the fabrication of electrostatic/gecko-like adhesives. We show that increase in the crosslinking density at the interface may enhance the adhesion strength of such devices by reducing the shear compliance. This is the first time the use of these bonding enhancers is reported.