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    Engineering Micropatterned Dry Adhesives: From Contact Theory to Handling Applications
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2018) Hensel, René; Moh, Karsten; Arzt, Eduard
    Reversible adhesion is the key functionality to grip, place, and release objects nondestructively. Inspired by nature, micropatterned dry adhesives are promising candidates for this purpose and have attracted the attention of research groups worldwide. Their enhanced adhesion compared to nonpatterned surfaces is frequently demonstrated. An important conclusion is that the contact mechanics involved is at least as important as the surface energy and chemistry. In this paper, the roles of the contact geometry and mechanical properties are reviewed. With a focus on applications, the effects of substrate roughness and of temperature variations, and the long-term performance of micropatterned adhesives are discussed. The paper provides a link between the current, detailed understanding of micropatterned adhesives and emerging applications.
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    Toward Artificial Mussel-Glue Proteins: Differentiating Sequence Modules for Adhesion and Switchable Cohesion
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2020) Arias, Sandra; Amini, Shahrouz; Horsch, Justus; Pretzler, Matthias; Rompel, Annette; Melnyk, Inga; Sychev, Dmitrii; Fery, Andreas; Börner, Hans G.
    Artificial mussel-glue proteins with pH-triggered cohesion control were synthesized by extending the tyrosinase activated polymerization of peptides to sequences with specific modules for cohesion control. The high propensity of these sequence sections to adopt β-sheets is suppressed by switch defects. This allows enzymatic activation and polymerization to proceed undisturbed. The β-sheet formation is regained after polymerization by changing the pH from 5.5 to 6.8, thereby triggering O→N acyl transfer rearrangements that activate the cohesion mechanism. The resulting artificial mussel glue proteins exhibit rapid adsorption on alumina surfaces. The coatings resist harsh hypersaline conditions, and reach remarkable adhesive energies of 2.64 mJ m−2 on silica at pH 6.8. In in situ switch experiments, the minor pH change increases the adhesive properties of a coating by 300 % and nanoindentation confirms the cohesion mechanism to improve bulk stiffness by around 200 %. © 2020 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH GmbH
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    In Situ Observation Reveals Local Detachment Mechanisms and Suction Effects in Micropatterned Adhesives
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2019) Tinnemann, Verena; Hernández, Luissé; Fischer, Sarah C.L.; Arzt, Eduard; Bennewitz, Roland; Hensel, René
    Fibrillar adhesion pads of insects and geckoes have inspired the design of high-performance adhesives enabling a new generation of handling devices. Despite much progress over the last decade, the current understanding of these adhesives is limited to single contact pillars and the behavior of whole arrays is largely unexplored. In the study reported here, a novel approach is taken to gain insight into the detachment mechanisms of whole micropatterned arrays. Individual contacts are imaged by frustrated total internal reflection, allowing in situ observation of contact formation and separation during adhesion tests. The detachment of arrays is found to be governed by the distributed adhesion strength of individual pillars, but no collaborative effect mediated by elastic interactions can be detected. At the maximal force, about 30% of the mushroom structures are already detached. The adhesive forces decrease with reduced air pressure by 20% for the smooth and by 6% for the rough specimen. These contributions are attributed to a suction effect, whose strength depends critically on interfacial defects controlling the sealing quality of the contact. This dominates the detachment process and the resulting adhesion strength. © 2019 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim