2024 IRG-2: Elastic Network of Droplets for Underwater Adhesives
This paper reports:
•Kinetically trapped self-assembly of a compartmentalized network of liquid droplets from small-molecule precursors
•Liquid-liquid phase separation accompanied by silanol hydrolysis, condensation, and zwitterionic self-association
•Hierarchical structure increases toughness and enables underwater adhesion
Impact:
•Relatively simple means to access complex hierarchical structures comprising liquid compartments.
•New design rules for achieving complex liquid structures
•An aqueous one-pot assembly of scalable small-molecule precursors is particularly meaningful for practical applications.
Hyuna Jo and Seunghyun Sim
Publication(s):
Journal of the American Chemical Society 2023, 145, 27022–27029