Good news! This could be a breakthrough to prevent dangerous future slip and falls on wet surfaces.
"Geckos are able to maintain a grip on wet surfaces not because their toe pads repel water, but because they attract it. A new polymer, which was inspired by this phenomenon, could find use in shoe soles that keep people from slipping on ice. ...
Each of a gecko's toe pads is made up of rows of tiny hair-like structures known as setae. The narrow grooves between these rows naturally draw in liquid water via capillary action. This process produces suction. Therefore, when the reptile walks across a solid surface covered by a film of water, its toes are actually sucked down against that underlying surface.
An international team of scientists set out to replicate that phenomenon in a human-made polymer, by combining silicone rubber with nanoparticles of a hydrophilic (water-attracting) ceramic known as zirconia. This polymer was rolled into a thin sheet, which was then laser-etched with a grooved pattern. ..."
From the abstract:
"The World Health Organization (WHO) reports 684,000 deaths/year due to slips and falls (SFs), with ∼38 million people requiring medical attention per annum.
In particular, SFs on ice surfaces account for 45% of all SF incidents, costing over $100 billion globally in healthcare, intensive care, and insurance expenses. Current antislip solutions focus on hydrophobicity to repel interfacial fluids, aiming to maintain solid-to-solid contact. However, these solutions often wear out quickly, clog, or become ineffective.
Wet ice is particularly challenging due to its nanometer-thick quasi-liquid layer (QLL), which makes it extremely slippery.
Inspired by the capillary suction adhesion observed in gecko footpads and the slip resistance of frog toepads on wet surfaces, we developed an innovative approach to regulate ice adhesion and deadhesion.
The solution presented in this work mimics this mechanism by employing textured microcavities into silicone rubber (SR)/zirconia (ZrO2) closely mirroring the properties of gecko and frog toepads. Given the dynamics of walking, the surface exhibited hydrophilicity-induced capillary suction of the QLL, facilitating their rapid frost to achieve greater mechanical interlocking. The developed textures displayed capillary suction within 1.5 ms, resulting in a maximum friction coefficient of 3.46 on wet ice. This breakthrough outcome provides a robust, durable solution to significantly reduce SFs on ice surfaces, saving lives and livelihoods."
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