Mechanistic analysis of force–displacement measurements on macroscopic single adhesive pillars

• Simple mechanical characterization of soft elastomeric materials.
• Determination of various material properties in compression and tension.
• Deformation mechanisms of different tips, pillars and backing layers.

Force–displacement measurements were performed on single macroscopic polydimethylsiloxane pillars. The pillars had diameters of 400 μm, aspect ratios between 1 and 5, and spherical, flat, and mushroom shaped tips. We present a method to derive numerous parameters, e.g. stress, strain, elastic modulus, and work of separation from these force–displacement measurements. We also show that the deformation of the pillar, their tips and the backing layers can be separately identified from the same experiments. This method can help to better characterize the mechanical properties of polymeric microstructures using a simple experimental approach.