#electroadhesion

This Video is About Electroadhesion.

You don't need glue to hold these materials together—just electricity

Is there a way to stick hard and soft materials together without any tape, glue or epoxy? A new study published in ACS Central Science shows that applying a small voltage to certain objects forms chemical bonds that securely link the objects together. Reversing the direction of electron flow easily separates the two materials. This electroadhesion effect could help create biohybrid robots, improve biomedical implants and enable new battery technologies. When an adhesive is used to attach two things, it binds the surfaces either through mechanical or electrostatic forces. But sometimes those attractions or bonds are difficult, if not impossible, to undo. As an alternative, reversible adhesion methods are being explored, including electroadhesion (EA). Though the term is used to describe a few different phenomena, one definition involves running an electric current through two materials causing them to stick together, thanks to attractions or chemical bonds. Previously, Srinivasa Raghavan and colleagues demonstrated that EA can hold soft, oppositely charged materials together, and even be used to build simple structures. This time, they wanted to see if EA could reversibly bind a hard material, such as graphite, to a soft material, such as animal tissue.

If you're a fan of arts and crafts, you're likely familiar with the messy, sticky, frustration-inducing nature of liquid glues. But researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces now have a brand-new way to weld squishy stuff together without the need for glue at all. They've demonstrated a universal, "electroadhesion" technique that can adhere soft materials to each other just by running electricity through them.

There's a glue out there for almost any situation, whether it involves plastic, fabric, wood or beyond. But things get a bit tricky when materials are soft and squishy, like tissues or engineered organs. Strategies including 3D-printing avoid glues altogether by fusing together an entire structure -- such as an organ -- all at once. But this can be slow and laborious, and require advanced technical equipment. Another alternative could be electroadhesion, in which an electric field is used to hold oppositely charged materials together, forming attachments between the materials' components. This can involve chemical bonds, like ionic bonds, or more physical connections, like ensnaring polymer chains together. Plus, it works with little more than a household battery and pencil lead. Previously, Srinivasa Raghavan and colleagues showed that electroadhesion could reversibly hold a gel to a tissue without the need for sutures. But now, they wanted to see if the technique could work for any two materials, given that they had opposite charges, to precisely and reversibly hold them together.

!!! This is the video about #electroadhesion !

This is the video that made me think about this for 3dprinting plates!