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<h2 id="background">Background</h2> <p>A gecko can hang on a glass surface using only one toe. This ability is attributed to <a href="/facts/Van_der_Waals_force/jyGU8Vh9">van der Waals force</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> although a more recent study suggests that water molecules of roughly monolayer thickness (present on virtually all natural surfaces) also play a role.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="developments">Developments</h2> <p>In 2007, researchers from the <a href="/facts/University_of_Akron/y5vV3Cdf">University of Akron</a> and <a href="/facts/Rensselaer_Polytechnic_Institute/e3smoUMm">Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute</a> announced they had developed a form of flexible, reusable <a href="/facts/Gecko_tape/7eGQ0sBo">gecko tape</a> using <a href="/facts/Carbon_nanotube/atuDPPaG">carbon nanotubes</a> to create microscopic <a href="/facts/Synthetic_setae/7eGQ0sBo">synthetic setae</a> and <a href="/facts/Spatula/t5MQxDao">spatulae</a> capable of supporting a <a href="/facts/Shear_stress/aWWnzIhE">shear stress</a> of 32 <a href="/facts/Newton_(unit)/Ral9XgNl">N</a>/<a href="/facts/Metre/hPhzc1CV">cm</a>2, which is four times the strength of a gecko's foot.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p><p>In 2008 researchers from the <a href="/facts/University_of_Dayton/JQAzLRds">University of Dayton</a> reported a gecko glue capable of supporting 100N/cm2, ten times the strength generated by a gecko's foot. The research also used carbon nanotubes, but included a curled end which allowed stronger binding but easy removal.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> <a href="/facts/DARPA/Uf9sarhT">Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency</a> (DARPA) has a project called "Z-Man" that is attempting to develop a fabric allowing soldiers to scale vertical walls while carrying a full combat load.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> In February 2012 <a href="/facts/Nitto_Denko/1oa1NAGU">Nitto Denko</a> developed a version of gecko tape capable of sticking at temperatures between -150 and 500°<a href="/facts/Celsius/okAEu1CA">C</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Gecko_adhesion/13Hu5c1w">Gecko adhesion</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Gecko_tape/7eGQ0sBo">Gecko tape</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Synthetic_setae/7eGQ0sBo">Synthetic setae</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://www.deepmateriales.com/">Semiconductor Adhesives</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Researchers discover how geckos know when to hold tight". Archived from the original on 2010-06-11. Retrieved 2009-11-08. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100611153743/http://www.clemson.edu/newsroom/articles/2009/august/geckos.php5" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20100611153743/http://www.clemson.edu/newsroom/articles/2009/august/geckos.php5</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Autumn, Kellar; Sitti, Metin; Liang, Yiching A.; et al. (2002). "Evidence for van der Waals adhesion in gecko setae". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA. 99 (19): 12252–12256. Bibcode:2002PNAS...9912252A. doi:10.1073/pnas.192252799. PMC 129431. PMID 12198184. <a href="/wiki/Metin_Sitti" target="_blank">/wiki/Metin_Sitti</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Huber, G.; Mantz, H.; Spolenak, R.; Mecke, K.; Jacobs, K.; Gorb, S. N.; Arzt, E. (2005). "Evidence for capillarity contributions to gecko adhesion from single spatula nanomechanical measurements". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA. 102 (45): 16293–16296. Bibcode:2005PNAS..10216293H. doi:10.1073/pnas.0506328102. PMC 1283435. PMID 16260737. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1283435" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1283435</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Ge, L.; Sethi, S.; Ci, L.; Ajayan, P. M.; Dhinojwala, A. (2007). "Carbon nanotube-based synthetic gecko tapes". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 104 (26): 10792–10795. Bibcode:2007PNAS..10410792G. doi:10.1073/pnas.0703505104. PMC 1904109. PMID 17578915. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1904109" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1904109</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Qu, L.; Dai, L.; Stone, M.; Xia, Z.; Wang, Z. L. (2008). "Carbon Nanotube Arrays with Strong Shear Binding-On and Easy Normal Lifting-Off". Science. 322 (5899): 238–242. Bibcode:2008Sci...322..238Q. doi:10.1126/science.1159503. PMID 18845750. S2CID 9597020. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Goodman, M. "Z-man". DARPA. Archived from the original on 2012-08-06. Retrieved 2012-07-27. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120806163801/http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/DSO/Programs/Z_Man.aspx" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20120806163801/http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/DSO/Programs/Z_Man.aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Nitto Denko's "Gecko Tape" achieves precise, contamination-free analysis service in the -150- 500°C range" (Press release). Nitto Denko. 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2012-07-27. <a href="http://www.nitto.com/news/20120224/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.nitto.com/news/20120224/index.html</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>