Super Strong Adhesive Material Possible Using Nanotechnology

28 April 2007

The vision of a modern-day Spiderman swinging from building to building using super strong silk may be closer to reality, as a result of research conducted by the Polytechnic University of Turin in Italy to create a super-strong adhesive material based on Nanotechnology. The adhesive would exploit the properties of carbon based Nanotubes to accomplish this result.

As with so many scientific breakthroughs, inspiration comes from everyday observations in nature, and this was no exception. Researchers began their work by using geckos as their model for creating sticky material. The gecko can dangle itself upside down from the wall because its feet are carpeted with adhesive elastic hairs known as setae. Scientists first used Nanotechnology to create a comparable material to the setae, using the carbon Nanotubes.

It was found that the adhesive strength of the carbon Nanotubes was on the order of 200 times that of the setae. However, attempts to scale the nanotubes to larger dimensions (as would be required to create a human-sized sticky suit) failed. As the Nanotubes expand in length or width they become either too inflexible or too rigid and lose their adhesive properties altogether.

To resolve this problem, researchers have postulated that it is necessary to arrange the Nanotubes in a hierarchical, tree-like structure, in much the same way the setae in the gecko’s feet branch out into expanding and stronger patterns. Researchers believe that this approach would enable the adhesive material to remain strong as it scales to larger sizes.

Scientists at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York have also conducted research into Nanotube structures that would further complement the quest to create the perfect adhesive material. To create Spiderman-style silk, for example, they have created carbon Nanotube fibers that are one meter in length. Eventually, scientists envision expanding upon this work to create a cable made up of 4 million such fibers, which could eventually be released from a launcher device of some sort. Between the work conducted by researchers in both Italy and New York, it is believed that a Spiderman type suit would be available for production within the next decade.

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