Insights into the Multilevel Structural Characterization and Adsorption Mechanism of Sinogastromyzon szechuanensis Sucker on the Rough Surface

The present study investigates the adsorption performance and adsorption mechanism of Sinogastromyzon szechuanensis on different rough surfaces. The different positions of the sucker surface of Sinogastromyzon szechuanensis were observed by adopting the stereomicroscope and SEM. The observed results showed that the sucker of Sinogastromyzon szechuanensis had a multilevel structure of villi and groove. The anterior and posterior of Sinogastromyzon szechuanensis had different microscopic morphologies. The surface roughness of the adsorption substrate ranged from 7 μm to 188 μm. Adsorption strength of Sinogastromyzon szechuanensis and the conventional sucker on different rough surfaces were measured by a purposely designed device. The results showed that the back of Sinogastromyzon szechuanensis mainly provided the adsorption strength. The adsorption strength of the conventional sucker gradually decreased with surface roughness increasing, but the adsorption strength of Sinogastromyzon szechuanensis had not changed significantly. Based on the experimental results, the adsorption mechanism of Sinogastromyzon szechuanensis on the surface with different roughness was analyzed by the spectral function. The Sinogastromyzon szechuanensis sucker with a multilevel structure worked well on the rough surface, which led to Sinogastromyzon szechuanensis with a good sealing on the rough surface. The present work could help to develop a new type of sucker with effective adsorption performance on a rough surface to meet the needs of the engineering field.