Antibacterial Poly(disulfide) Elastomer Featuring High Metal Adhesion and Closed-Loop Recyclability

Pioneering the next generation of robotics and reusable devices demands innovative metal adhesives with exceptional durability and sterile performance. However, the integration of robust adhesion, high energy dissipation, and inherent antibacterial activity into a recyclable adhesive remains a challenge, particularly in balancing complex performance with synthetic simplicity. Herein, a histamine-functionalized lipoic acid (LA-His)-based elastomer is reported to address the multifaceted needs within a minimalist design. Leveraging the imidazole group in histamine, which offers strong metal coordination, abundant hydrogen bonding, and inherent bactericidal efficacy, a dynamic network is constructed via a solvent-free melt polymerization of LA-His and a polyethylene glycol cross-linker. This approach results in a versatile polymer with a broadly tunable Young's modulus (2.8-194.1 MPa). The optimized elastomer exhibits exceptional metal adhesion (∼12 MPa), rivaling that of commercial cyanoacrylate adhesives, while also demonstrating superior energy dissipation. Reversible disulfide bonds impart self-healing properties and closed-loop chemical recyclability to the material. Notably, the material exhibits low cytotoxicity but exceptional antibacterial efficacy, achieving greater than 99.8% inhibition against E. coli and effectively inhibiting S. aureus biofilm formation by more than 99.3%.