Staying sticky: contact self-cleaning of gecko-inspired adhesives

The exceptionally adhesive foot of the gecko remains clean in dirty environments by shedding contaminants with each step. Synthetic gecko-inspired adhesives have achieved similar attachment strengths to the gecko on smooth surfaces, but the process of contact self-cleaning has yet to be effectively demonstrated. Here, we present the first gecko-inspired adhesive that has matched both the attachment strength and the contact self-cleaning performance of the gecko''s foot on a smooth surface. Contact self-cleaning experiments were performed with three different sizes of mushroom-shaped elastomer microfibres and five different sizes of spherical silica contaminants. Using a load–drag–unload dry contact cleaning process similar to the loads acting on the gecko foot during locomotion, our fully contaminated synthetic gecko adhesives could recover lost adhesion at a rate comparable to that of the gecko. We observed that the relative size of contaminants to the characteristic size of the microfibres in the synthetic adhesive strongly determined how and to what degree the adhesive recovered from contamination. Our approximate model and experimental results show that the dominant mechanism of contact self-cleaning is particle rolling during the drag process. Embedding of particles between adjacent fibres was observed for particles with diameter smaller than the fibre tips, and further studied as a temporary cleaning mechanism. By incorporating contact self-cleaning capabilities, real-world applications of synthetic gecko adhesives, such as reusable tapes, clothing closures and medical adhesives, would become feasible.     

Simulation of synthetic gecko arrays shearing on rough surfaces

To better understand the role of surface roughness and tip geometry in the adhesion of gecko synthetic adhesives, a model is developed that attempts to uncover the relationship between surface feature size and the adhesive terminal feature shape. This model is the first to predict the adhesive behaviour of a plurality of hairs acting in shear on simulated rough surfaces using analytically derived contact models. The models showed that the nanoscale geometry of the tip shape alters the macroscale adhesion of the array of fibres by nearly an order of magnitude, and that on sinusoidal surfaces with amplitudes much larger than the nanoscale features, spatula-shaped features can increase adhesive forces by 2.5 times on smooth surfaces and 10 times on rough surfaces. Interestingly, the summation of the fibres acting in concert shows behaviour much more complex that what could be predicted with the pull-off model of a single fibre. Both the Johnson–Kendall–Roberts and Kendall peel models can explain the experimentally observed frictional adhesion effect previously described in the literature. Similar to experimental results recently reported on the macroscale features of the gecko adhesive system, adhesion drops dramatically when surface roughness exceeds the size and spacing of the adhesive fibrillar features.     

Klebflächenvorbehandlung von Aluminiumoberflächen mit Haftvermittler

Surface pretreatment for adhesive bonding of aluminum with adhesive mediator The influence of three steps pretreatment degreasing, blasting and primer and the two steps pretreatment degreasing and blasting on the adhesive behaviour of aluminum alloy AlMg4,5Mn0,5 were investigated. The investigations were preformed using two cold hardening two‐components epoxy adhesives, one hot hardening one‐component epoxy adhesive and one cold hardening two‐components polyurethane adhesive. The three steps pretreatment indicate that the adhesion bonding strength by epoxy adhesives are higher than that by two steps pretreatment. On the other hand, the adhesion bonding strength was similar by using polyurethane adhesive independence of the pretreatment method. Leaving out the pretreatment step degreasing after corund blasting caused by using, PU, EP 2 and EP 3 adhesives a significant decreasing of the bonding strength in comparison with the only degreased specimen. This degreasing process was used to remove the residual blasting medium from the aluminum surfaces after blasting. The topographical structure of the surfaces after corund blasting was covered by further pretreatment with primer as a consequence of higher primer viscosity, which causes a decreasing in the surface roughness. The chemical composition of pretreated surfaces by three steps was different from that by two steps.     

Delamination of filler-incorporated automotive epoxy adhesives from different steel substrates upon exposure to distilled water and NaCl solutions under applied bending stresses

Delamination of four filler-incorporated automotive epoxy adhesives from five different steel substrates was studied using a three-point bending device. The bent specimens were exposed to distilled water and NaCl solutions with different concentrations from 1–5 weeks. It was found that the degree of adhesive delamination increased with the concentration of the NaCl solution, and with the magnitude of the applied bending stresses. The harder the adhesives, or the higher the content of the fillers in the adhesives, the lower was the degree of the adhesive delamination. In addition, the rank of the steel substrates in terms of their bonding resistance against adhesive delamination was determined. It is believed that the adhesion between the adhesives and the steel substrates is governed by the surface roughness of the steel substrates.     

Liquid-Superrepellent Bioinspired Fibrillar Adhesives

Bioinspired elastomeric fibrillar surfaces have significant potential as reversible dry adhesives, but their adhesion performance is sensitive to the presence of liquids at the contact interface. Like their models in nature, many artificial mimics can effectively repel water, but fail when low-surface-tension liquids are introduced at the contact interface. A bioinspired fibrillar adhesive surface that is liquid-superrepellent even toward ultralow-surface-tension liquids while retaining its adhesive properties is proposed herein. This surface combines the effective adhesion principle of mushroom-shaped fibrillar arrays with liquid repellency based on double re-entrant fibril tip geometry. The adhesion performance of the proposed microfibril structures is retained even when low-surface-tension liquids are added to the contact interface. The extreme liquid repellency enables real-world applications of fibrillar adhesives for surfaces covered with water, oil, and other liquids. Moreover, fully elastomeric liquid-superrepellent surfaces are mechanically not brittle, highly robust against physical contact, and highly deformable and stretchable, which can increase the real-world uses of such antiwetting surfaces.     

Human climbing with efficiently scaled gecko-inspired dry adhesives

Since the discovery of the mechanism of adhesion in geckos, many synthetic dry adhesives have been developed with desirable gecko-like properties such as reusability, directionality, self-cleaning ability, rough surface adhesion and high adhesive stress. However, fully exploiting these adhesives in practical applications at different length scales requires efficient scaling (i.e. with little loss in adhesion as area grows). Just as natural gecko adhesives have been used as a benchmark for synthetic materials, so can gecko adhesion systems provide a baseline for scaling efficiency. In the tokay gecko (Gekko gecko), a scaling power law has been reported relating the maximum shear stress σ_max to the area A: σ_max ∝ A^−1/4. We present a mechanical concept which improves upon the gecko''s non-uniform load-sharing and results in a nearly even load distribution over multiple patches of gecko-inspired adhesive. We created a synthetic adhesion system incorporating this concept which shows efficient scaling across four orders of magnitude of area, yielding an improved scaling power law: σ_max ∝ A^−1/50. Furthermore, we found that the synthetic adhesion system does not fail catastrophically when a simulated failure is induced on a portion of the adhesive. In a practical demonstration, the synthetic adhesion system enabled a 70 kg human to climb vertical glass with 140 cm² of adhesive per hand.     

Adhesives with patterned sub-surface microstructures

Inspired by the complex hierarchical structures found in natural adhesives, we have embedded monolithic stack of several microchannels inside soft layers of silicon elastomers. These channels are rectangular in cross-section and their internal surfaces are textured with microscopic pillars arranged in regular arrays. Displacement controlled indentation experiment on these adhesives shows that adhesion and debonding occur not only on the surface of the adhesive but also at the interfaces of the embedded layers. These textures on the channel surface enhance adhesion via “crack arrest and initiation” mechanism. Furthermore, the adhesive is treated by hydrochloric acid so that the siloxane bonds present on the exposed surfaces are hydrolyzed generating silanol groups which on two contacting surfaces increase the effect of self adhesion hysteresis. Thus, the combined effect of surface texturing is integrated with the chemical treatment to increase adhesion.     

On the mechanical properties of bovine serum albumin (BSA) adhesives

Biological adhesives, natural and synthetic, are of current active interest. These adhesives offer significant advantages over traditional sealant techniques, in particular, they are easier to use, and can play an integral part in the healing mechanism of tissue. Thus, biological adhesives can play a major role in medical applications if they possess adequate mechanical behavior and stability over time. In this work, we report on the method of preparation of bovine serum albumin (BSA) into a biological adhesive. We present quantitative measurements that show the effect of BSA concentration and cross-linker content on the bonding strength of BSA adhesive to wood. A comparison is then made with synthetic poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) adhesive, and a commercial cyanoacrylate glue, which was used as a control adhesive. In addition, BSA samples were prepared and characterized for their water content, tensile strength, and elasticity. We show that on dry surface, BSA adhesive exhibits a high bonding strength that is comparable with non-biological commercial cyanoacrylate glues, and synthetic PGMA adhesive. Tensile testing on wet wood showed a slight increase in the bonding strength of BSA adhesive, a considerable decrease in the bonding strength of cyanoacrylate glue, and negligible adhesion of PGMA. Tests performed on BSA samples demonstrate that initial BSA concentration and final water content have a significant effect on the stress–strain behavior of the samples.     

Insect wet steps: loss of fluid from insect feet adhering to a substrate

Reliable attachment ability of insect adhesive pads is proposed to be due to pad secretion. It has been shown that surface roughness strongly reduces adhesion forces of insect pads. This effect has been explained by decreased contact area and rapid fluid absorption from the pad surface by rough surfaces. However, it remains unclear how the fluid flows on rough substrates having different roughness parameters and surface energy. In this paper, we numerically studied the fluid flow on rough substrates during contact formation. The results demonstrate that an increase in the density of the substrate structures leads to an increase in fluid loss from the pad: substrates with a fine roughness absorb pad fluid faster. Decreased affinity of the solid substrate to the fluid has a more remarkable effect on the fluid loss and leads to a decrease in the fluid loss. With an increase in the aspect ratio of the substrate irregularities (porosity), the fluid loss is decreased. The numerical results obtained agree well with previous observations on insects and experimental results on nanoporous substrata. The significance of the obtained results for understanding biological wet adhesives is discussed.     

Testing of a solder replacement technology

Environmental issues have an ever-increasing influence on the selection of material and processes in electronic manufacturing. This paper discusses the use of conductive adhesives as a replacement for solder on SMT printed circuit boards. As a result of a world-wide market survey, a number of conductive adhesives has been selected. One of the two key issues of this paper has been to uncover the market for adhesive types and their composition. The other key issue has been the technical investigation of the influence of component termination and printed circuit surface types on adhesive bonding stability. Four different types of adhesives on two different metal surfaces are compared with conventional solder technology. Each adhesive has been applied to the PCBs by either screen printing or dispensing according to the manufacturer's recommendation, followed by curing. All PCBs went through thermal and humidity cycling followed by electrical measurements of resistance. Finally all variants have been adhesion tested. All adhesive variants have been microsectioned for metallurgical and microstructure examination. Energy dispersive analysis of X-ray (EDAX) of the metal particles in the adhesive has been carried out and documented. Rework of conductive joints is briefly commented on. Finally, aspects of occupational health are discussed concerning work with adhesive types. Work with epoxy based adhesives has been brought into special focus.     

Structural behavior of double-lap shear adhesive joints with metal substrates under humid conditions

Structural adhesive bonding is very often used joining method in aerospace and automotive industry, but in civil engineering, especially in façade applications, semi-flexible or semi-rigid adhesives are still rarely used. The article is focused on experimental analyses of structural adhesive joints intended for façade applications (e.g. bonding of façade cladding elements to the supporting substructure). The experimental study contains a comparison of the structural behavior of two different adhesives in joints with aluminum or zinc-electroplated steel substrates with various surface pre-treatments. The main goal of the study is a comparison of the mechanical properties of joints exposed and unexposed to laboratory ageing conditions; immersion on demineralized water according to ETAG 002 (Guideline for European Technical Approval for Structural Sealant Glazing Kits). Water content in adhesive layer can change significantly its mechanical properties and adhesion of glue to the substrate. Ageing resistance of joint can be improved by durability increasing of the substrate. For this reason, two different substrate materials with various surface treatments (mechanical roughening, smooth surface, anodizing) were tested. Different adhesive resistance against humid conditions was observed depending on the substrate material and pre-treatment. STP polymer joints showed strength reduction by 30% after immersion for almost all substrates, while acrylate adhesive proved 20% strength reduction for roughened aluminum substrate and 60% strength reduction for zinc-electroplated steel substrate with a roughened surface. The zinc-electroplated steel substrate showed problematic adhesion in case of the acrylate adhesive both reference set of specimens and specimens exposed to laboratory ageing. The positive effect of roughening on adhesion and ageing resistance was clearly observed in the specimens bonded by the acrylate adhesive.

     

Switchable Adhesion of Micropillar Adhesive on Rough Surfaces

Switchable structured adhesion on rough surfaces is highly desired for a wide range of applications. Combing the advantages of gecko seta and creeper root, a switchable fibrillar adhesive composed of polyurethane (PU) as the backing layer and graphene/shape memory polymer (GSMP) as the pillar array is developed. The photothermal effect of graphene (under UV irradiation) changes GSMP micropillars into the viscoelastic state, allowing easy and intimate contact on surfaces with a wide range of roughness. By controlling the phase state of GSMP via UV irradiation during detachment, the GSMP micropillar array can be switched between the robust‐adhesion state (UV off) and low‐adhesion state (UV on). The state of GSMP micropillars determines the adhesion force capacity and the stress distribution at the detaching interface, and therefore the adhesion performance. The PU‐GSMP adhesive achieves large adhesion strength (278 kPa), high switching ratio (29), and fast switching (10 s) at the same time. The results suggest a design principle for bioinspired structured adhesives, especially for reversible adhesion on surfaces with a wide range of roughness.     

The effect of nanoparticles on the adhesion of epoxy adhesive

In this investigation, the influence of different nanoparticles and surface roughness on the adhesion between epoxy adhesive and steel substrate was primarily investigated. The results of pull-off adhesion tests indicated that nano-Al₂O₃ of the three kinds of nanoparticles had the most influence on adhesion strength, which was the optimal additive for the epoxy adhesive to improve the adhesion strength. Also, it was found that modified by 2% nano-Al₂O₃, the strength multiplication on the surface abraded with silicon carbide paper of 150 grits (150#) was the highest, of three different surface roughness. So, as the results showed that modified by 2% nano-Al₂O₃, the adhesion strength of epoxy adhesive on the surface abraded with 150# was visibly improved by about 5 times. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) displayed nano-Al₂O₃ homogeneously dispersed in epoxy adhesive. Field emission scanning electronic microscope (FE-SEM) revealed that the surface morphology of steel well coincided with that of epoxy adhesive.     

Laser processing of natural mussel adhesive protein thin films

A novel laser processing technique is presented for depositing mussel adhesive protein thin films. Synthetic adhesives (e.g., acrylics, cyanoacrylates, epoxies, phenolics, polyurethanes, and silicones) have largely displaced natural adhesives in the automotive, aerospace, biomedical, electronic, and marine equipment industries over the past century. However, rising concerns over the environmental and health effects of solvents, monomers, and additives used in synthetic adhesives have led the adhesives community to seek natural alternatives. Marine mussel adhesive protein is a formaldehyde-free natural adhesive that demonstrates excellent adhesion to several classes of materials, including pure metals, metal oxides, polymers, and glasses. We have demonstrated the deposition of Mytilus edulis foot protein-1 thin films using matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE). The Fourier transform infrared spectrum data suggest that the matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation process does not cause significant damage to the chemical structure of M. edulis foot protein-1. In addition, matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation appears to provide a better control over film thickness and film roughness than conventional solvent-based thin film processing techniques. MAPLE-deposited mussel adhesive protein thin films have numerous potential electronic, medical, and marine applications.     

Enhanced Dynamic Adhesion in Nematic Liquid Crystal Elastomers

Smart adhesives that undergo reversible detachment in response to external stimuli enable a wide range of applications in household products, medical devices, or manufacturing. Here, a new model system for the design of smart soft adhesives that dynamically respond to their environment is presented. By exploiting the effect of dynamic soft elasticity in nematic liquid crystal elastomers (LCE), the temperature‐dependent control of adhesion to a solid glass surface is demonstrated. The adhesion strength of LCE is more than double in the nematic phase, in comparison to the isotropic phase, further increasing at higher detachment rates. The static work of adhesion, related to the interfacial energy of adhesive contact, is shown to change very little within the explored temperature range. Accordingly, the observed enhanced adhesion in the nematic phase is primarily attributable to the increased internal energy dissipation during the detachment process. This adhesion effect is correlated with the inherent bulk dynamic‐mechanical response in the nematic LCE. The reported enhanced dynamic adhesion can lead to the development of a new class of stimuli‐responsive adhesives.     

Adhesively-bonded joints and repairs in metallic alloys, polymers and composite materials: Adhesives, adhesion theories and surface pretreatment

In the present paper, the following topics are reviewed in detail: (a) the available adhesives, as well as their recent advances, (b) thermodynamic factors affecting the surface pretreatments including adhesion theories, wettability, surface energy, (c) bonding mechanisms in the adhesive joints, (d) surface pretreatment methods for the adhesively bonded joints, and as well as their recent advances, and (e) combined effects of surface pretreatments and environmental conditions on the joint durability and performance. Surface pretreatment is, perhaps, the most important process step governing the quality of an adhesively bonded joint. An adhesive is defined as a polymeric substance with viscoelastic behavior, capable of holding adherends together by surface attachment to produce a joint with a high shear strength. Adhesive bonding is the most suitable method of joining both for metallic and non-metallic structures where strength, stiffness and fatigue life must be maximized at a minimum weight. Polymeric adhesives may be used to join a large variety of materials combinations including metal-metal, metal-plastic, metal-composite, composite-composite, plastic-plastic, metal-ceramic systems. Wetting and adhesion are also studied in some detail in the present paper since the successful surface pretreatments of the adherends for the short- and long-term durability and performance of the adhesive joints mostly depend on these factors. Wetting of the adherends by the adhesive is critical to the formation of secondary bonds in the adsorption theory. It has been theoretically verified that for complete wetting (i.e., for a contact angle equal to zero), the surface energy of the adhesive must be lower than the surface energy of the adherend. Therefore, the primary objective of a surface pretreatment is to increase the surface energy of the adherend as much as possible. The influence of surface pretreatment and aging conditions on the short- and long-term strength of adhesive bonds should be taken into account for durability design. Some form of substrate pretreatment is always necessary to achieve a satisfactory level of long-term bond strength. In order to improve the performance of adhesive bonds, the adherends surfaces (i.e., metallic or non-metallic) are generally pretretead using the (a) physical, (b) mechanical, (c) chemical, (d) photochemical, (e) thermal, or (e) plasma method. Almost all pretreatment methods do bring some degree of change in surface roughness but mechanical surface pretreatment such as grit-blasting is usually considered as one of the most effective methods to control the desired level of surface roughness and joint strength. Moreover, the overall effect of mechanical surface treatment is not limited to the removal of contamination or to an increase in surface area. This also relates to changes in the surface chemistry of adherends and to inherent drawbacks of surface roughness, such as void formations and reduced wetting. Suitable surface pretreatment increases the bond strength by altering the substrate surface in a number of ways including (a) increasing surface tension by producing a surface free from contaminants (i.e., surface contamination may cause insufficient wetting by the adhesive in the liquid state for the creating of a durable bond) or removal of the weak cohesion layer or of the pollution present at the surface, (b) increasing surface roughness on changing surface chemistry and producing of a macro/microscopically rough surface, (c) production of a fresh stable oxide layer, and (d) introducing suitable chemical composition of the oxide, and (e) introduction of new or an increased number of chemical functions. All these parameters can contribute to an improvement of the wettability and/or of the adhesive properties of the surface.     

Stick–slip friction of gecko-mimetic flaps on smooth and rough surfaces

The discovery and understanding of gecko ‘frictional-adhesion’ adhering and climbing mechanism has allowed researchers to mimic and create gecko-inspired adhesives. A few experimental and theoretical approaches have been taken to understand the effect of surface roughness on synthetic adhesive performance, and the implications of stick–slip friction during shearing. This work extends previous studies by using a modified surface forces apparatus to quantitatively measure and model frictional forces between arrays of polydimethylsiloxane gecko footpad-mimetic tilted microflaps against smooth and rough glass surfaces. Constant attachments and detachments occur between the surfaces during shearing, as described by an avalanche model. These detachments ultimately result in failure of the adhesion interface and have been characterized in this study. Stick–slip friction disappears with increasing velocity when the flaps are sheared against a smooth silica surface; however, stick–slip was always present at all velocities and loads tested when shearing the flaps against rough glass surfaces. These results demonstrate the significance of pre-load, shearing velocity, shearing distances, commensurability and shearing direction of gecko-mimetic adhesives and provide us a simple model for analysing and/or designing such systems.     

Bioinspired Composite Microfibers for Skin Adhesion and Signal Amplification of Wearable Sensors

A facile approach is proposed for superior conformation and adhesion of wearable sensors to dry and wet skin. Bioinspired skin‐adhesive films are composed of elastomeric microfibers decorated with conformal and mushroom‐shaped vinylsiloxane tips. Strong skin adhesion is achieved by crosslinking the viscous vinylsiloxane tips directly on the skin surface. Furthermore, composite microfibrillar adhesive films possess a high adhesion strength of 18 kPa due to the excellent shape adaptation of the vinylsiloxane tips to the multiscale roughness of the skin. As a utility of the skin‐adhesive films in wearable‐device applications, they are integrated with wearable strain sensors for respiratory and heart‐rate monitoring. The signal‐to‐noise ratio of the strain sensor is significantly improved to 59.7 because of the considerable signal amplification of microfibrillar skin‐adhesive films.     

Plant surfaces with cuticular folds are slippery for beetles

Plant surfaces covered with three-dimensional (3D) waxes are known to strongly reduce insect adhesion, leading to slippery surfaces. Besides 3D epicuticular waxes, cuticular folds are a common microstructure found on plant surfaces, which have not been quantitatively investigated with regard to their influence on insect adhesion. We performed traction experiments with Colorado potato beetles on five plant surfaces with cuticular folds of different magnitude. For comparison, we also tested (i) smooth plant surfaces and (ii) plant surfaces possessing 3D epicuticular waxes. Traction forces on surfaces with medium cuticular folds, of about 0.5 µm in both height and thickness and a spacing of 0.5–1.5 µm, were reduced by an average of 88 per cent in comparison to smooth plant surfaces. Traction forces were reduced by the same order of magnitude as on plant surfaces covered with 3D epicuticular waxes. For surface characterization, we performed static contact angle measurements, which proved a strong effect of cuticular folds also on surface wettability. Surfaces possessing cuticular folds of greater magnitude showed higher contact angles up to superhydrophobicity. We hypothesize that cuticular folds reduce insect adhesion mainly due to a critical roughness, reducing the real contact area between the surface and the insect''s adhesive devices.     

Adhesive bonding for high performance materials

Adhesion as a joining technology assumes greater significance as attempts are made to join newer materials in increasingly exotic combinations and where conventional joining techniques are either less suitable or quite unsatisfactory. This paper describes work directed at the use of adhesives in the fabrication or repair of structures involving modern structural materials.This subject is discussed by reference to research involving fibre reinforced polyether ether ketone (PEEK) and particulate silicon carbide reinforced aluminium alloy as representatives of organic and metal matrix composites respectively.Adhesion is essentially a superficial phenomenon depending as it does upon interactions between the adhesive in its liquid state and the surface of the substrate. The surface preparation of the subject to be bonded is therefore of the greatest importance and this aspect is addressed at length. The success of an adhesive bonding operation is reflected in the strength of the joint generated and in its ability to retain useful joint strength for long periods in the operational environment. These aspects are also considered and in particular the effect of water on the integrity of joints is discussed.Both plasma and corona discharge treatments were found to be effective in the adhesive bonding of the organic matrix material (PEEK) whilst anodising and the use of coupling agents were both found to be useful in the bonding of the metal matrix composite (MMC).The versatility of the adhesion process as a joining technology is highlighted by reference to how the individual problems presented by these very different materials are dealt with.