Intrinsically reversible superglues via shape adaptation inspired by snail epiphragm
Abstract
Adhesives are ubiquitous in daily life and industrial applications. They usually fall into one of two classes: strong but irreversible (e.g., superglues) or reversible/reusable but weak (e.g., pressure-sensitive adhesives and biological and biomimetic surfaces). Achieving both superstrong adhesion and reversibility has been challenging. This task is particularly difficult for hydrogels that, because their major constituent is liquid water, typically do not adhere strongly to any material. Here, we report a snail epiphragm-inspired adhesion mechanism where a polymer gel system demonstrates superglue-like adhesion strength (up to 892 N⋅cm −2 ) that is also reversible. It is applicable to both flat and rough target surfaces. In its hydrated state, the softened gel conformally adapts to the target surface by low-energy deformation, which is locked upon drying as the elastic modulus is raised from hundreds of kilopascals to ∼2.3 GPa, analogous to the action of the epiphragm of snails. We show that in this system adhesion strength is based on the material’s intrinsic, especially near-surface, properties and not on any near-surface structure, providing reversibility and ease of scaling up for practical applications.
- Publication Date:
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1526768
- Grant/Contract Number:
- FG02-07ER46463
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Volume: 116 Journal Issue: 28; Journal ID: ISSN 0027-8424
- Publisher:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Citation Formats
Cho, Hyesung, Wu, Gaoxiang, Christopher Jolly, Jason, Fortoul, Nicole, He, Zhenping, Gao, Yuchong, Jagota, Anand, and Yang, Shu. Intrinsically reversible superglues via shape adaptation inspired by snail epiphragm. United States: N. p., 2019.
Web. doi:10.1073/pnas.1818534116.
Cho, Hyesung, Wu, Gaoxiang, Christopher Jolly, Jason, Fortoul, Nicole, He, Zhenping, Gao, Yuchong, Jagota, Anand, & Yang, Shu. Intrinsically reversible superglues via shape adaptation inspired by snail epiphragm. United States. doi:10.1073/pnas.1818534116.
Cho, Hyesung, Wu, Gaoxiang, Christopher Jolly, Jason, Fortoul, Nicole, He, Zhenping, Gao, Yuchong, Jagota, Anand, and Yang, Shu. Mon .
"Intrinsically reversible superglues via shape adaptation inspired by snail epiphragm". United States. doi:10.1073/pnas.1818534116.
@article{osti_1526768,
title = {Intrinsically reversible superglues via shape adaptation inspired by snail epiphragm},
author = {Cho, Hyesung and Wu, Gaoxiang and Christopher Jolly, Jason and Fortoul, Nicole and He, Zhenping and Gao, Yuchong and Jagota, Anand and Yang, Shu},
abstractNote = {Adhesives are ubiquitous in daily life and industrial applications. They usually fall into one of two classes: strong but irreversible (e.g., superglues) or reversible/reusable but weak (e.g., pressure-sensitive adhesives and biological and biomimetic surfaces). Achieving both superstrong adhesion and reversibility has been challenging. This task is particularly difficult for hydrogels that, because their major constituent is liquid water, typically do not adhere strongly to any material. Here, we report a snail epiphragm-inspired adhesion mechanism where a polymer gel system demonstrates superglue-like adhesion strength (up to 892 N⋅cm −2 ) that is also reversible. It is applicable to both flat and rough target surfaces. In its hydrated state, the softened gel conformally adapts to the target surface by low-energy deformation, which is locked upon drying as the elastic modulus is raised from hundreds of kilopascals to ∼2.3 GPa, analogous to the action of the epiphragm of snails. We show that in this system adhesion strength is based on the material’s intrinsic, especially near-surface, properties and not on any near-surface structure, providing reversibility and ease of scaling up for practical applications.},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.1818534116},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
number = 28,
volume = 116,
place = {United States},
year = {2019},
month = {6}
}
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1818534116
Search WorldCat to find libraries that may hold this journalWorks referenced in this record:
From micro to nano contacts in biological attachment devices
journal, September 2003
- Arzt, E.; Gorb, S.; Spolenak, R.
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 100, Issue 19, p. 10603-10606