Remora-Inspired Reversible Adhesive for Underwater Applications

The remoras are marine species that can effectively move by clinging onto other marine species via a suction disk on their dorsal side, which is composed of complex structures. The inner suction disk could be divided into three large parts, namely, lip, lamella, and spinule. The lamella is deformed actively to generate pressure difference between the inside and outside of the suction disk, and the lip maintains the sealing. The spinule, which is composed of hairs with diameter of 300 μm or less hair, enhances the frictional force. In this study, we easily fabricated polymer-based adhesive inspired by the suction disk of the remora and conducted an experiment to determine its performance. The adhesive exhibited admirable performance with a 26.68 N cm (266.8 kPa) pull-off strength and a 19.42 N cm (194.2 kPa) shear strength in water. The durability test result indicated that the adhesion and friction characteristics of the adhesive were well maintained even after multiple uses.