Instant and Reversible Adhesive-free Bonding Between Silicones and Glossy Papers for Soft Robotics

TL;DR

This paper introduces a rapid, reversible, and adhesive-free bonding method for silicones and glossy papers, enabling easy assembly, disassembly, and reuse in soft robotics without compromising performance.

Contribution

The study presents a novel silicone-glossy paper bonding technique that is fast, solvent-reversible, and suitable for scalable soft robotic fabrication.

Findings

Bonding withstands shear strength > 61 kPa.

Reversible via ethanol immersion without performance loss.

Soft actuators achieve comparable or better performance with programmable modes.

Abstract

Integrating silicone with non-extensible materials is a common strategy used in the fabrication of fluidically-driven soft actuators, yet conventional approaches often rely on irreversible adhesives or embedding processes that are labor-intensive and difficult to modify. This work presents silicone-glossy paper bonding (SGB), a rapid, adhesive-free, and solvent-reversible bonding approach that forms robust silicone-paper interfaces simply through contact. The SGB interface withstands high mechanical loads (shear strength > 61 kPa) and can be fully detached and reassembled via ethanol immersion without loss of performance, enabling component reuse and rapid redesign. Characterization studies indicate that surface functional groups primarily govern adhesion on the glossy paper and the modulus of the silicone, while durability and environmental response clarify the conditions for reversible debonding. The results further suggest a synergistic interaction of hydrogen bonding and oligomer diffusion, yielding strong yet reconfigurable adhesion. Soft actuators fabricated using SGB design exhibit equal or greater performance compared to conventional embedded-layer design and enable programmable actuation modes, including contraction, bending, and twisting. By simplifying fabrication while supporting reuse and rapid iteration, SGB offers a scalable and sustainable platform for rapid prototyping in soft robotics.