SBIR Phase I: Reusable Adhesive Fasteners Using Shape Memory Polymers

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to address the critical market pain points and demand for damage-free, yet secure and repeatedly usable adhesive fasteners that can perform well on both dry and wet surfaces. This project develops a reusable adhesive fastener that is a non-tacky, quickly-reversible adhesive, exhibiting high joining strength and reversibility. Due to the unique mechanism the device uses to toggle its adhesion, this device leaves the underlying surface damage-free. The fastener is easily removable, repeatedly usable, and potentially will have low manufacturing costs. Such an adhesive fastener enables the user to easily and securely mount and dismount moderately heavy objects without the risk of damaging or leaving residue on the mounting surface, even on moderately porous and rough surfaces. Furthermore, since the adhesive fastener is water-resistant, high-performance fastening can also be applied in wet environments, expanding the potential market applications. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate an adhesive fastener that works with high reliability and durability in diverse environmental conditions, with effective activation methods. Shape memory polymer (SMP) formulations and the mechanics at the adhesive contact interface will be optimized to make the fastener more resistant to contact failure. Since the adhesive contact failure mode of this adhesive fastener is typically fracture, there will be significant efforts on refining the mechanical design to retard adhesive contact fracture, and the resulting performance in terms of joining strength and duration will be quantitatively determined. An optimized fabrication process for conductive SMPs will be developed by incorporating conductive fillers into the SMP material to enable continuous production, ensuring uniform product quality and enabling scalable manufacturing. For this purpose, the effective Joule-heating, shape memory effect, and final reversible adhesive properties of the conductive SMP upon conductive filler composition, concentration, and spatial concentration configuration will be investigated. The adhesive performance in wet conditions of the SMP will be demonstrated and systematically tested to minimum performance standards under a variety of liquid types and thermomechanical loading conditions. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.