Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Akron, both USA, have developed a process for making polymer surfaces covered with carbon nanotube hairs, imitating the thousands of microscopic hairs on a gecko's footpad. The hairs on a gecko's footpad form weak bonds with whatever surface the creature touches, allowing it to unstick itself simply by shifting its foot. For the first time, the team has developed a prototype flexible patch that can stick and unstick repeatedly with properties better than the natural gecko foot. They fashioned their material into an adhesive tape that can be used on a wide variety of surfaces, including Teflon.
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