Single-Phase Photo-Cross-Linkable Bioinspired Adhesive for Precise Control of Adhesion Strength

A bioinspired, modular terpolymer adhesive, poly(N-methacryloyl-3,4-dihydroxyl-l-phenylalanine-co-9-(acryloyloxy)butyl anthracene-9-carboxylate-co-acrylic acid), has been synthesized containing three different functionalities: a photo-cross-linking segment, a wet interfacial adhesion segment, and a water-soluble segment. The synthesized adhesive polymer is the first example of a single-phase, photo-cross-linkable adhesive which does not require additional photoinitiator or other cross-linking agents. The terpolymer demonstrates strong adhesion when it swells in water and/or ethanol. The terpolymer is composed of three repeating units: N-methacryloyl-3,4-dihydroxyl-l-phenylalanine (MDOPA), which has been known to generate strong adhesion under wet conditions, poly(acrylic acid), which has been known to increase water solubility of polymers, and a photo-cross-linking segment consisting of an anthracene-based monomer used for enhancement of cohesion properties via UV irradiation (352 nm). A photomediated [4 + 4] cycloaddition reaction of anthracene results in the cross-linking of individual polymer chains after interfacial adhesion between substrates and adhesive polymers. Chemically, the covalent photo-cross-linking was confirmed by UV-vis