title: Improved Adhesion and Compliancy of Hierarchical Fibrillar Adhesives.
abstract: The gecko relies on van der Waals forces to cling onto surfaces with a variety of topography and composition. The hierarchical fibrillar structures on their climbing feet, ranging from mesoscale to nanoscale, are hypothesized to be key elements for the animal to conquer both smooth and rough surfaces. An epoxy-based artificial hierarchical fibrillar adhesive was prepared to study the influence of the hierarchical structures on the properties of a dry adhesive. The presented experiments highlight the advantages of a hierarchical structure despite a reduction of overall density and aspect ratio of nanofibrils. In contrast to an adhesive containing only nanometer-size fibrils, the hierarchical fibrillar adhesives exhibited a higher adhesion force and better compliancy when tested on an identical substrate.
authors.affiliation: †Menrva Lab, School of Engineering Science, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada.
authors.forename: Yasong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: ‡Department of Chemistry and 4D LABS, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada.
authors.forename: Byron D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Gates
authors.affiliation: †Menrva Lab, School of Engineering Science, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Menon
mesh_terms: D000268:Adhesiveness; D000269:Adhesives / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D004852:Epoxy Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D006244:Hardness; D008116:Lizards / Q000378:metabolism*; D008422:Materials Testing; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010316:Particle Size
chemical_list: D000269:Adhesives; D004852:Epoxy Compounds
keywords: adhesion forces; compliancy; hierarchical adhesive; nanostructured fibrils; scanning probe microscopy