Adhesive material mimics the way geckos stick to surfaces

The ‘Geckskin’ was developed after analysing how geckos adhere to walls.

Duncan Irschick, a biologist who has studied geckos’ climbing abilities for more than 20 years, said: ‘Amazingly, gecko feet can be applied and disengaged with ease, and with no sticky residue remaining on the surface.’

According to a statement, the researchers are aiming to take the same properties used by the gecko, such as high-capacity reversibility and dry adhesion, to develop materials that can attach objects, such as TVs, to a wall.

Alfred Crosby, the scientist who heads up the polymer science and engineering lab that the material was made in, said: ‘Our Geckskin device is about 16in² [387cm²], about the size of an index card, and can hold a maximum force of about 700lb [320kg] while adhering to a smooth surface such as glass.’

The material also enables devices to be easily released with little effort and can be reused many times with no reduction in performance. For example, it can be used to stick a 42in [107cm] TV to a wall, released with a gentle tug and re-stuck to another surface as many times as needed, leaving no residue.