Despite the recent progress in and demand for wet adhesives, practical underwater adhesion remains limited or non-existent for diverse applications. Translation of mussel-inspired wet adhesion typically entails catechol functionalization of polymers and/or polyelectrolytes, and solution processing of many complex components and steps that require optimization and stabilization. Here we reduced the complexity of a wet adhesive primer to synthetic low-molecular-weight catecholic zwitterionic surfactants that show very strong adhesion (∼50 mJ m(-2)) and retain the ability to coacervate. This catecholic zwitterion adheres to diverse surfaces and self-assembles into a molecularly smooth, thin (<4 nm) and strong glue layer. The catecholic zwitterion holds particular promise as an adhesive for nanofabrication. This study significantly simplifies bio-inspired themes for wet adhesion by combining catechol with hydrophobic and electrostatic functional groups in a small molecule.

中文翻译：

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贻贝启发性的高性能粘合剂，降低了复杂性。

尽管最近对湿粘合剂的进步和需求，但是对于各种应用来说，实际的水下粘合仍然是有限的或不存在的。贻贝激发的湿粘合的翻译通常需要将邻苯二酚官能化的聚合物和/或聚电解质，以及许多需要优化和稳定化的复杂部件和步骤的溶液处理。在这里，我们将湿式粘合剂底漆的复杂性降低为合成的低分子量ca型两性离子表面活性剂，该表面活性剂显示出非常强的附着力（〜50 mJ m（-2））并保留了凝聚的能力。这种幼稚的两性离子可粘附在不同的表面上，并自组装成分子光滑，薄（<4 nm）和牢固的胶层。儿茶两性离子作为纳米加工的粘合剂具有特殊的前景。