The effect of substrate wettability and modulus on gecko and gecko-inspired synthetic adhesion in variable temperature and humidity.

ABSTRACT: Gecko adhesive performance increases as relative humidity increases. Two primary mechanisms can explain this result: capillary adhesion and increased contact area via material softening. Both hypotheses consider variable relative humidity, but neither fully explains the interactive effects of temperature and relative humidity on live gecko adhesion. In this study, we used live tokay geckos (Gekko gecko) and a gecko-inspired synthetic adhesive to investigate the roles of capillary adhesion and material softening on gecko adhesive performance. The results of our study suggest that both capillary adhesion and material softening contribute to overall gecko adhesion, but the relative contribution of each depends on the environmental context. Specifically, capillary adhesion dominates on hydroph

SUBMITTER: Mitchell CT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7665207 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature