Adhesion Enhancement of Micropillar Array by Combining the Adhesive Design from Gecko and Tree Frog

It has long been demonstrated the gecko-inspired micropillar array with T-shape tips possesses the best adhesion performance of a given material. The further enhancement of the adhesion performances of T-shape micropillars can offer redundant adhesion to compensate for the inevitable improper contacts. Here, the array of T-shape polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) micropillars is incorporated with gradient dispersed calcium carbonate nanoparticles in the micropillar stalk, termed as T-shape gradient micropillars (TG), possessing the modulus gradient with stiff tip and soft root. The gradient modulus in TG facilitates the contact formation and regulates the stress at the detaching interface, resulting in a 4.6 times adhesion and 2.4 times friction as compared with the pure PDMS T-shape micropillar arrays. The study here provides a new design strategy for the super-strong structured dry adhesives.

Automated summary

It has been demonstrated that incorporating gradient dispersed nanoparticles into the stalk of T-shape micropillars can significantly enhance adhesion performance, resulting in 4.6 times higher adhesion and 2.4 times higher friction compared to pure PDMS T-shape micropillar arrays. This study provides a new design strategy for super-strong structured dry adhesives.