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Strong, Spontaneous, and Self-Healing Poly(Ionic Liquid) Elastomer Underwater Adhesive with Borate Ester Dynamic
Qingning Li1, Sijie Zheng1, Ziyang Liu1
1Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory of Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Negative Carbon Technologies, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Soft Material and New Energy, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China.
This study introduces a novel underwater adhesive, a poly(ionic liquid) elastomer adhesive (PIEA), that spontaneously strengthens in water. This breakthrough enables robust underwater adhesion and applications in smart sensors.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Polymer Chemistry
- Surface Chemistry
Background:
- Underwater adhesion is challenging due to water sensitivity of conventional adhesives.
- Existing adhesives have limited applications in aqueous environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel underwater adhesive with enhanced adhesion strength and self-healing properties.
- To explore the potential of this adhesive in soft sensors and underwater communication.
Main Methods:
- Synthesized a borate ester dynamically crosslinked poly(ionic liquid) elastomer adhesive (PIEA).
- Copolymerized hydrophobic ionic liquid monomer ([HPVIm][TFSI]) and 2-methoxyethyl acrylate (MEA).
- Investigated adhesion strength, toughness, self-healing, and ionic conductivity in aqueous environments.
Main Results:
- PIEA demonstrated spontaneous increase in adhesion strength from near zero to 314 kPa in 12 hours without external preloading.
- The adhesive exhibited high strength, toughness, self-healing, and ionic conductivity.
- Dissociation of borate ester in water facilitated noncovalent interactions with the substrate.
Conclusions:
- The developed PIEA shows significant potential for underwater smart adhesives.
- PIEA can be utilized for soft sensors and ion electrodes for underwater detection and communication.
- This strategy overcomes limitations of traditional adhesives in aqueous environments.
