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A Gecko‐Inspired Reversible Adhesive
Author(s) -
Northen Michael T.,
Greiner Christian,
Arzt Eduard,
Turner Kimberly L.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.200801340
Subject(s) - gecko , materials science , adhesive , nanorod , adhesion , nanotechnology , composite material , layer (electronics) , ecology , biology
A synthetic, fully reversible, switchable, gecko‐inspired adhesive is presented. The biomimetic system is composed of flexible nickel paddles coated with aligned vertical polymeric nanorods. When subjected to a magnetic field, adhesion decreases by a factor of 40. The ability of the adhesive to controllably stick and release from a surface could enable technologies from ubiquitous latching systems to climbing microrobotics.