International. Researchers in Georgia have created magnetic replicas of sunflower pollen grains using a wet chemical process, layer by layer, which is applied in iron oxide coatings.
The replicas have natural adhesion properties inherited from the tips of the pollen particles, while obtaining magnetic behavior, which allows adhesion to the measurement of the surfaces.
Taking advantage of the native pollen grain shape and an unnatural oxide chemistry, this work provides a unique demonstration of adjustable multimodal adhesion.
Legacy peaks from sunflower pollen provide short-range adhesion – over nanoscale distances – while oxide chemistry provides an adhesion mode that operates over much greater distances – up to one millimeter.
"Pollen grains are low-cost, sustainable templates that are available in large quantities. Because pollen grains are already designed by nature for adhesion, we thought it would be interesting to try to increase that natural behavior with an additional— unnatural mode of adhesion," said Ken Sandhage, a professor in the College of Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
