Engineers create new gecko-like adhesive that shakes off dirt

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On the gecko-inspired synthetic adhesive shown above microspheres contaminating the microfibrillar adhesive (left) are shed after repeated contacts with a surface (right). By contract conventional soft polymer tape shows how the microspheres are simp ...
On the gecko-inspired synthetic adhesive shown above, microspheres contaminating the microfibrillar adhesive (left) are shed after repeated contacts with a surface (right). By contract, conventional soft polymer tape shows how the microspheres are simply spread around, rather than removed, by contact with a clean glass surface. (Fearing lab/UC Berkeley)
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, are continuing their march toward creating a synthetic, gecko-like adhesive, one sticky step at a time. Their latest milestone is the first adhesive that cleans itself after each use without the need for water or chemicals, much like the remarkable hairs found on the gecko lizard's toes.


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