title: Robust self-cleaning and micromanipulation capabilities of gecko spatulae and their bio-mimics.
abstract: Geckos have the extraordinary ability to prevent their sticky feet from fouling while running on dusty walls and ceilings. Understanding gecko adhesion and self-cleaning mechanisms is essential for elucidating animal behaviours and rationally designing gecko-inspired devices. Here we report a unique self-cleaning mechanism possessed by the nano-pads of gecko spatulae. The difference between the velocity-dependent particle-wall adhesion and the velocity-independent spatula-particle dynamic response leads to a robust self-cleaning capability, allowing geckos to efficiently dislodge dirt during their locomotion. Emulating this natural design, we fabricate artificial spatulae and micromanipulators that show similar effects, and that provide a new way to manipulate micro-objects. By simply tuning the pull-off velocity, our gecko-inspired micromanipulators, made of synthetic microfibers with graphene-decorated micro-pads, can easily pick up, transport, and drop-off microparticles for precise assembling. This work should open the door to the development of novel self-cleaning adhesives, smart surfaces, microelectromechanical systems, biomedical devices, and more.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, Institute of New Energy, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, China.|Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas 76203, USA.
authors.forename: Quan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas 76203, USA.
authors.forename: Yiyang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical &Materials Engineering, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado 80208, USA.
authors.forename: Travis Shihao
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas 76203, USA.
authors.forename: Tony X
authors.initials: TX
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Dashuai
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Integrated Bioscience Program, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Peter H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Niewiarowski
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas 76203, USA.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Center of Advanced Science and Engineering for Carbon (Case4carbon), Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Liming
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710072, China.
authors.forename: Yanqing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas 76203, USA.|School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710072, China.|Department of Chemistry, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas 76203, USA.
authors.forename: Zhenhai
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xia
mesh_terms: D000268:Adhesiveness; D000818:Animals; D004867:Equipment Design; D005528:Foot / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D008116:Lizards / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D008124:Locomotion; D058618:Sensilla / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology