Switchable Supramolecular Adhesive

Strong, detachable, recyclable

By tuning interfacial bonding and bulk modulus, achieves high adhesion strength in the dehydrated state and easy detachment in the rehydrated state, breaking the trade-off between strength and detachability.

Rumin, Fu · Xiao, Cairong · Zihao, Du · Linghu, Changhong · Yongdong, Shi · Chuyang, Xiang · Mingxin, Wan · Tan, Guoxing · Lu, Limin · Ning, Chengyun · Hsia, Kuen Jimmy

Advanced Functional Materials 2026

Specifications

Adhesion strength

{'zh': '4.65', 'en': '4.65'} MPa

Switchability ratio

{'zh': '1800', 'en': '1800'}

Dehydrated modulus

{'zh': '445', 'en': '445'} MPa

Rehydrated modulus

{'zh': '0.11', 'en': '0.11'} MPa

Advantages

Strong yet switchable

In the dehydrated state, high physical bond density and high modulus give adhesion >1 MPa (up to 4.65 MPa); upon rehydration, reduced bonds and low modulus allow easy detachment.

Very high switchability

The ratio of adhesion strength in dehydrated state to that in rehydrated state reaches up to 1800, far beyond conventional reversible adhesives.

Versatile adhesion

Dehydrated state exposes rich hydrogen-bonding and dipole-dipole bonding groups, enabling robust adhesion on various surfaces.

Transparent and recyclable

The adhesive is transparent when dehydrated, and is recyclable and removable, ideal for sustainable applications.

Applications

• Adaptive grippers：Switch adhesion on demand by hydration to control gripping and release.
• Heavy load adhesion：High dry-state adhesion holds heavy loads, and rehydration allows easy removal.
• Recyclable adhesive：The adhesive can be recycled and reused, reducing waste.
• Flexible device bonding：Transparent and modulus-tunable, suitable for optically clear bonding of flexible devices.
• E-skin bonding：Transparent and switchable, enables reversible attachment for electronic skins.