Ambient Climate Influences Anti-Adhesion between Biomimetic Structured Foil and Nanofibers
Due to their uniquely high surface-to-volume ratio, nanofibers are a desired material for various technical applications. However, this surface-to-volume ratio also makes processing difficult as van der Waals forces cause nanofibers to adhere to virtually any surface. The cribellate spider <i>...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Nanomaterials |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/11/12/3222 |
| _version_ | 1797502024701444096 |
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| author | Marco Meyer Gerda Buchberger Johannes Heitz Dariya Baiko Anna-Christin Joel |
| author_facet | Marco Meyer Gerda Buchberger Johannes Heitz Dariya Baiko Anna-Christin Joel |
| author_sort | Marco Meyer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Due to their uniquely high surface-to-volume ratio, nanofibers are a desired material for various technical applications. However, this surface-to-volume ratio also makes processing difficult as van der Waals forces cause nanofibers to adhere to virtually any surface. The cribellate spider <i>Uloborus plumipes</i> represents a biomimetic paragon for this problem: these spiders integrate thousands of nanofibers into their adhesive capture threads. A comb on their hindmost legs, termed calamistrum, enables the spiders to process the nanofibers without adhering to them. This anti-adhesion is due to a rippled nanotopography on the calamistrum. Via laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS), these nanostructures can be recreated on artificial surfaces, mimicking the non-stickiness of the calamistrum. In order to advance the technical implementation of these biomimetic structured foils, we investigated how climatic conditions influence the anti-adhesive performance of our surfaces. Although anti-adhesion worked well at low and high humidity, technical implementations should nevertheless be air-conditioned to regulate temperature: we observed no pronounced anti-adhesive effect at temperatures above 30 °C. This alteration between anti-adhesion and adhesion could be deployed as a temperature-sensitive switch, allowing to swap between sticking and not sticking to nanofibers. This would make handling even easier. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:27:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-17ccd8dff2814972b337cfb2d1335483 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-4991 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:27:01Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nanomaterials |
| spelling | doaj.art-17ccd8dff2814972b337cfb2d13354832023-11-23T09:49:35ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912021-11-011112322210.3390/nano11123222Ambient Climate Influences Anti-Adhesion between Biomimetic Structured Foil and NanofibersMarco Meyer0Gerda Buchberger1Johannes Heitz2Dariya Baiko3Anna-Christin Joel4Institute for Biology II, RWTH Aachen, Worringerweg 3, 52074 Aachen, GermanyInstitute of Applied Physics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Strasse 69, 4040 Linz, AustriaInstitute of Applied Physics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Strasse 69, 4040 Linz, AustriaInstitute of Biomedical Mechatronics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Strasse 69, 4040 Linz, AustriaInstitute for Biology II, RWTH Aachen, Worringerweg 3, 52074 Aachen, GermanyDue to their uniquely high surface-to-volume ratio, nanofibers are a desired material for various technical applications. However, this surface-to-volume ratio also makes processing difficult as van der Waals forces cause nanofibers to adhere to virtually any surface. The cribellate spider <i>Uloborus plumipes</i> represents a biomimetic paragon for this problem: these spiders integrate thousands of nanofibers into their adhesive capture threads. A comb on their hindmost legs, termed calamistrum, enables the spiders to process the nanofibers without adhering to them. This anti-adhesion is due to a rippled nanotopography on the calamistrum. Via laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS), these nanostructures can be recreated on artificial surfaces, mimicking the non-stickiness of the calamistrum. In order to advance the technical implementation of these biomimetic structured foils, we investigated how climatic conditions influence the anti-adhesive performance of our surfaces. Although anti-adhesion worked well at low and high humidity, technical implementations should nevertheless be air-conditioned to regulate temperature: we observed no pronounced anti-adhesive effect at temperatures above 30 °C. This alteration between anti-adhesion and adhesion could be deployed as a temperature-sensitive switch, allowing to swap between sticking and not sticking to nanofibers. This would make handling even easier.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/11/12/3222spider silkcalamistrumLIPSShumiditytemperaturevan der Waals |
| spellingShingle | Marco Meyer Gerda Buchberger Johannes Heitz Dariya Baiko Anna-Christin Joel Ambient Climate Influences Anti-Adhesion between Biomimetic Structured Foil and Nanofibers Nanomaterials spider silk calamistrum LIPSS humidity temperature van der Waals |
| title | Ambient Climate Influences Anti-Adhesion between Biomimetic Structured Foil and Nanofibers |
| title_full | Ambient Climate Influences Anti-Adhesion between Biomimetic Structured Foil and Nanofibers |
| title_fullStr | Ambient Climate Influences Anti-Adhesion between Biomimetic Structured Foil and Nanofibers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ambient Climate Influences Anti-Adhesion between Biomimetic Structured Foil and Nanofibers |
| title_short | Ambient Climate Influences Anti-Adhesion between Biomimetic Structured Foil and Nanofibers |
| title_sort | ambient climate influences anti adhesion between biomimetic structured foil and nanofibers |
| topic | spider silk calamistrum LIPSS humidity temperature van der Waals |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/11/12/3222 |
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