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Scientists have developed a sticky mat which takes away dust from a contacting surface, ensuring a clean, hygienic, healthy, and refreshing atmosphere at our home, offices, hospitals, and laboratories as also smooth functioning of many expensive equipments.
Highlights
- The mat is a low-cost one and remains washable and usable over many cycles.
- The scientists took inspiration from adhesive pad present at the feet of wall climbing animals, like house lizards.
- The adhesive associated makes use of nanoscopic pyramidal bumps on its surface to attract dust particles towards it, thereby cleaning the sole of our shoes when we step on it.
- When the adhesive gets completely covered with particulate matter, it is washed in a way that we wash our clothes. At this, the surface gets back its ability to stick and remains usable through hundreds of such cycles.
Materials used
- The scientists have used a bottom-up approach of preparation of nano- to micro-patterned surface on elastomer over a large area, control of geometry of surface patterns by simple methods, washability, and reusability of the adhesive over many cycles for the development of this mat.
- It has been validated, and an Indian patent application has been filed for the sticky mat.
- It is simple to prepare, easy to wash,environmentally benign, cost-effective,andcan be a replacement for materials imported for the same purpose.
- The closest substitute is the 3M sticky pad that is not washable or reusable.
Application
- This mat can be used in ICU of Hospitals, clean rooms, facilities housing sophisticated equipment as a component of air filters.
- The technology is important wherever cleanliness and hygiene is desired.
- The product is in 7 – 8 level of technology readiness level and is yet to be commercialised. A pilot plant is being built to make the material in a scale larger.
Source: PIB
