JOURNAL ARTICLE

A Spider‐Silk‐Inspired Wet Adhesive with Supercold Tolerance

Abstract

Abstract Conventional adhesives often encounter interfacial failure in humid conditions due to small droplets of water condensed on surface, but spider silks can capture prey in such environment. Here a robust spider‐silk‐inspired wet adhesive (SA) composed of core–sheath nanostructured fibers with hygroscopic adhesive nanosheath (poly(vinylpyrrolidone)) and supporting nanocore (polyurethane) is reported. The wet adhesion of the SA is achieved by a unique dissolving–wetting–adhering process of core–sheath nanostructured fibers, revealed by in situ observations at macro‐ and microscales. Further, the SA maintains reliable adhesion on wet and cold substrates from 4 to −196 °C and even tolerates splashing, violent shaking, and weight loading in liquid nitrogen (−196 °C), showing promising applicability in cryogenic environments. This study will provide an innovative route to design functional wet adhesives.

Keywords:
Materials science Adhesive Spider silk Adhesion Wetting Polyurethane SILK Spider Composite material Dissolution Nanotechnology Core (optical fiber) Polymer science Chemical engineering Layer (electronics)

Metrics

92
Cited By
7.09
FWCI (Field Weighted Citation Impact)
52
Refs
0.98
Citation Normalized Percentile
Is in top 1%
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Citation History

Topics

Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity
Physical Sciences →  Materials Science →  Surfaces, Coatings and Films
Silk-based biomaterials and applications
Physical Sciences →  Materials Science →  Biomaterials
Adhesion, Friction, and Surface Interactions
Physical Sciences →  Engineering →  Mechanics of Materials
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