Hydrogen-Bonding Interaction-Driven Catechin Assembly into Solvent-Free Supramolecular Adhesive with Antidrying and Antifreezing Properties

Abstract

Solvent-free adhesive materials are attracting intensive attention compared to synthetic adhesives in both organic and aqueous solutions on account of their stability and processability. Herein, we developed a type of solvent-free supramolecular adhesive driven by hydrogen-bonding interaction, facilely formed by heating the mixture of catechin (CA) and poly­(ethylene glycol) (PEG). The resulted bulk solvent-free adhesive showcased strong adhesion to diverse substrates, enhanced shear strength under vacuum (−80 °C, <1 Pa) and at low temperatures (−196 °C), swelling resistance to organic solvents, and excellent bioactivity. This work manifests that the bulk supramolecular adhesive can occur in a solvent-free environment through simple one-step heating, raising the further potential for the creation of multifunctional adhesive materials used in extremely low temperature and ultrahigh vacuum environments, such as cryotherapy area and industrial adhesion in space.

Ultralow-Temperature-Tolerance Adhesive with Excellent Toughness and Record-High Strength

“…Therefore, the debonding energy increases from 5.34 ± 3.21 kN/m (HTA 0 ) to 61.16 ± 10.69 kN/m (HTA 0.5 ), 46.47 ± 7.22 kN/m (HTA 1 ), and 61.91 ± 20.12 kN/m (HTA 2 ), respectively, with an increase of 1045%, 770% and 1059%, respectively (Figure c). To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the lap-shear strength and the debonding work are 5 times higher than those reported in literatures ,− (Figure d), which is due to the relatively lower cross-sectional point of HTA 0.5 in the rheological modulus plot compared to HTA 1 . Taking HTA 0.5 as an example, it was further investigated at various temperatures and bonded to different substrates.…”

Robust Natural Polyphenolic Adhesives against Various Harsh Environments

“…As a kind of common products in industry, the low cost of epoxy glycidyl ethers would benefit for the further development of robust adhesives (0.05–7.04 USD/g price obtained from Aladdin Biochemical Technology Co., Ltd. would be cheaper in industry from Figure S10a, Supporting Information). Also, those natural polyphenolic adhesives exhibited good low temperature (i.e., the adhesion strength of TA-epoxy adhesives in 25 to −196 °C was stronger than many antifreeze adhesives from Figure S10b, Supporting Information) and simple preparation process compared to many established catechol-based adhesives, − ,− which could be widely used in several kinds of device repairment (i.e., chemical, petroleum, wood, metal, glass, plastic, rubber, and other industries) under different temperatures. Above all, the natural polyphenol-epoxy adhesives developed in the current study could achieve superior performances in different aspects (e.g., robust adhesion, universal adhesion, low price, simple process, low-temperature resistance, and various solvent resistance performances), which were quite interesting for the chemical and industrial fields.…”

A solvent-free processed low-temperature tolerant adhesive

“…The distribution of SSFP adhesive on SS after detachment implies that the adhesion failure mainly occurs in interfacial adhesion between adhesive and substrate, indicating the high cohesion interaction of SSFP adhesive (Supplementary Fig. 11 ) 45 , 46 .…”