The Chemistry behind Catechol-Based Adhesion

SAIZ POSEU, JAVIER; MANCEBO, JUAN; NADOR, FABIANA; BUSQUE, FELIX; RUIZ-MOLINA, DANIEL

Angewandte Chemie

WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH

Año: 2018

1433-7851

The wet adhesion of some marine organisms to almost any kind of surface has aroused increasing interest over recent decades. Numerous fundamental studies have been performed to understand the scientific basis of this behaviour, where catechols have been found to play a key role. Several novel bioinspired adhesives and coatings with value‐added performances have been developed by taking advantage of the knowledge gained from these studies. Excellent reviews of this issue have been published due to the large amount of interest and generated literature. Nevertheless, no detailed compilation exclusively focused on the complex inner workings of these materials exists. Thus, the aim of this work is to review recent investigations that elucidate the origin of the strong and versatile adsorption capacities of the catechol moiety and the effects of extrinsic factors playing important roles in the overall adhesion process, such as pH, solvent and the presence of metal ions. In other words, it is our aim to review in detail the chemistry behind the astonishing properties of natural and synthetic catechol‐based adhesive materials.