Abstract
Gecko-inspired adhesives, which are traditionally based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), are suitable for the delicate handling of 3D objects under vacuum and microgravity conditions but lose almost all their adhesion strength in environments below their crystallization temperatures. To address this issue, poly(methyl-phenyl-vinyl)siloxane (PMPVS) is synthesized by the simultaneous introduction of phenyl and vinyl side groups to achieve a crystallization temperature of -93.0 °C. The developed PMPVS-based adhesive exhibited adhesion strengths of 25.9 and 36.7 kPa at -70 and -80 °C, respectively, while a conventional PDMS-based adhesive has an adhesion strength of only 0.7 kPa at -70 °C. Moreover, the PMPVS-based adhesive retained an adhesion strength of 29.4 kPa at -80 °C even after 100 cycles. Robotic grippers equipped with this adhesive can softly grasp irregular, fragile, and heavy objects with a reduced gripping force of up to 90% compared to grippers without adhesive over a wide temperature range.