Fluorocarbon Rubber-Based Inert Dry Adhesive for Applications under Harsh Conditions

Abstract

Artificial dry adhesives have been developed based on materials and production methods by many researchers. Nowadays, extensive research has attempted to apply dry adhesives to various industrial fields, such as glass transportation systems, with admirable performance. However, most artificial dry adhesives consist of polymers such as thermosetting polymers, ultraviolet curable polymers, and water-based polymers. These polymers exhibit low thermal resistance and outgassing under high-vacuum conditions. Hence, the usage of dry adhesives under high-temperature and vacuum conditions, such as semiconductor manufacturing processes, is critically limited. In this study, based on the contact mechanism, a dry adhesive for use under high-temperature and vacuum conditions is developed using fluorocarbon rubber with excellent thermal resistance and low outgassing properties. The fluorocarbon rubber dry adhesive (FDA) material shows a high pull-off strength of up to 24.1 N cm–2 and its performance is verified through various experiments. Glass transportation experiments using a robot arm and custom-built equipment are also conducted and the results confirm the feasibility of using FDA in industrial applications. The FDA is expected to be a useful alternative under high-temperature and vacuum conditions, such as those in the aerospace industry and display manufacturing processes.