Adjacent cationic–aromatic sequences yield strong electrostatic adhesion of hydrogels in seawater

作者：Hailong Fan, Jiahui Wang, Zhen Tao, Junchao Huang, Ping Rao, Takayuki Kurokawa, Jian Ping Gong · 发表于：Nature Communications · 年份：2019 · DOI：10.1038/s41467-019-13171-9 · 被引用次数：367 · 研究领域：Polymer Surface Interaction Studies、Advanced Polymer Synthesis and Characterization、Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity

Electrostatic interaction is strong but usually diminishes in high ionic-strength environments. Biosystems can use this interaction through adjacent cationic-aromatic amino acids sequence of proteins even in a saline medium. Application of such specific sequence to the development of cationic polymer materials adhesive to negatively charged surfaces in saline environments is challenging due to the difficulty in controlling the copolymer sequences. Here, we discover that copolymers with adjacent cation-aromatic sequences can be synthesized through cation-π complex-aided free-radical polymerization. Sequence controlled hydrogels from diverse cation/aromatic monomers exhibit fast, strong but reversible adhesion to negatively charged surfaces in seawater. Aromatics on copolymers are found to enhance the electrostatic interactions of their adjacent cationic residues to the counter surfaces, even in a high ionic-strength medium that screens the electrostatic interaction for common polyelectrolytes. This work opens a pathway to develop adhesives using saline water.