Elastic Network of Droplets for Underwater Adhesives

Hyuna Jo; Seunghyun Sim

doi:10.1021/jacs.3c10528

Elastic Network of Droplets for Underwater Adhesives

J Am Chem Soc. 2023 Dec 13;145(49):27022-27029. doi: 10.1021/jacs.3c10528. Epub 2023 Dec 4.

Authors

Hyuna Jo^{1

2}, Seunghyun Sim^{1

2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States.
² Center for Complex and Active Materials, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States.
³ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States.

PMID: 38048531
DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c10528

Abstract

Functionality in biological materials arises from complex hierarchical structures formed through self-assembly processes. Here, we report a kinetically trapped self-assembly of an elastic network of liquid droplets and its utility for tough and fast-acting underwater adhesives. This complex structure was made from a one-pot mixture of scalable small-molecule precursors. Liquid-liquid phase separation accompanied by silanol hydrolysis, condensation, and zwitterionic self-association yields a viscoelastic solid with interconnected liquid droplets. These hierarchical microstructures increase toughness and enable underwater adhesion for a range of substrates, offering a platform for robust adhesives for rapid underwater repair or emergency wound care.