Synthesis and characterization of polyacrylamide-based biomimetic underwater adhesives

Abstract Adhesion in an aqueous environment is still a challenging topic. In recent years, the focus on biomimetic adhesives inspired by mussel proteins has greatly increased. The present paper focuses on a straightforward synthesis route for three biomimetic polymers with opportunity in a multi-gram scale and an overall yield of 83% over three steps. Two synthesized monomers combined with commercially available monomers are the basis for three different co-polymers with varying catechol content with nature inspired concentrations. Catechol-bearing monomers were protected prior to polymerization. Tensile tests in dry or wet conditions were performed with the deprotected polymers. The measured adhesion values determined via tensile tests increase with the amount of catechol introduced in the polymers and the highest adhesion values of 2.0 MPa for underwater adhesion were found for poly(phenethyl acrylamide co dopamine acrylamide) co-polymers. Graphical abstract

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