Improved Performance of Protected Catecholic Polysiloxanes for Bioinspired Wet Adhesion to Surface Oxides

摘要

A facile synthetic strategy for introducing catecholic moieties into polymeric materials based on a readily available precursor (eugenol) and efficient chemistries [tris-(pentafluorophenyl)borane-catalyzed silation and thiol-ene coupling] is reported. Silyl protection is shown to be critical for the oxidative stability of catecholic moieties during synthesis and processing, which allows functionalized poly-siloxane derivatives to be fabricated into 3D microstructures as well as 2D patterned surfaces. Deprotection gives stable catechol surfaces whose adhesion to a variety of oxide surfaces can be precisely tuned by the level of catechol incorporation. The advantage of silyl protection for catechol-functionalized polysiloxanes is demonstrated and represents a promising and versatile new platform for underwater surface treatments.