Micropatterned materials have developed in nature over 3.8 billion years, with remarkable
performance. Nature inspiration is the process of understanding biological mechanisms and …

In nature, millions of creatures, such as geckos, tree frogs, octopuses, etc., have evolved
fantastic switchable adhesion capabilities to climb swiftly on vertical even inverted surfaces …

Lightweight polymeric foam is highly attractive as thermal insulation materials for energy-
saving buildings but is plagued by its inherent flammability. Fire-retardant coatings are …

Soft-bodied locomotion in fluid-filled confined spaces is critical for future wireless medical
robots operating inside vessels, tubes, channels, and cavities of the human body, which are …

Although strong underwater bioadhesion is important for many biomedical applications,
designing adhesives to perform in the presence of body fluids proves to be a challenge. To …

Superior wet attachment and friction performance without the need of special external or
preloaded normal force, similar to the tree frog's toe pad, is highly essential for biomedical …

Joining two materials with an adhesive is an extremely common activity, but is most often
irreversible. However, emerging and current applications ranging from consumer and …

Elastic, microstructured surfaces (hydrophobic and hydrophilic) mimicking the surface
structure of tree‐frog toe‐pads are fabricated. Their adhesion and friction behaviour in the …

Chiral‐nematic polymer network coatings form a “fingerprint” texture through self‐assembly.
For this purpose the molecular helix of the coating is oriented parallel to the substrate. The …

Friction, wear and the associated energy dissipation are major challenges in all systems
containing moving parts. Examples range from nanoelectromechanical systems over hip …