Advancing Adhesives: Reusable and Renewable Adhesive Mimics Geckos
Researchers have re-designed Geckskin with renewable materials.
Traditional adhesives, usually petroleum-based and often intended for a single use, present a sticky situation for sustainability. However, researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst have redesigned their Geckskin adhesive using renewable materials. Geckskin is a reusable adhesive that is able to hold hundreds of pounds with just an index-card-sized swatch.
“Green Geckskin” is the latest product trademarked by UMass-Amherst from the polymer science and engineering team of professor Al Crosby and researcher Michael Bartlett, who, with others including biologist professor Duncan Irschick, first introduced the flexible adhesive Geckskin in 2012. It mimics a gecko’s ability to strongly attach its toes yet easily detach from walls and ceilings, over and over. Bartlett and Crosby describe the new development in a recent issue of Advanced Materials.*