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Design principles for creating synthetic underwater adhesives
Amal Narayanan1, Ali Dhinojwala1, Abraham Joy1
1School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA. ali4@uakron.edu.
Chemical Society Reviews
|November 9, 2021
Summary
Nature
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials science
- Adhesion science
- Marine biology
Background:
- Most synthetic adhesives fail in wet conditions, unlike natural underwater adhesives.
- Marine organisms like mussels and sandcastle worms possess remarkable underwater adhesion capabilities.
- Understanding biological underwater adhesion mechanisms is key to developing new synthetic materials.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a comprehensive review of the science of underwater adhesion.
- To explore the challenges of underwater adhesion and biological solutions.
- To detail the progress in synthetic underwater adhesives and their applications.
Main Methods:
- Review of physicochemical principles of adhesion (thermodynamics, kinetics).
- Analysis of adhesive mechanisms in mussels and sandcastle worms.
- Compilation and analysis of reported synthetic underwater adhesives, their structures, and strengths.
Main Results:
- Biological systems effectively overcome water's interference with adhesion.
- Significant advancements have been made in creating synthetic materials inspired by nature.
- A correlation between chemical structures and adhesive strength in synthetic underwater adhesives is observed.
Conclusions:
- Nature provides effective models for underwater adhesion.
- Synthetic underwater adhesives show promise for various applications.
- Further research can enhance the design of novel, high-strength underwater adhesives.
