2026-10-10T11:24:28Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33863731 2026-09-16T17:08:51Z category_146 category_915 category_21 category_272 category_873 category_39 category_734 portal_63 item_type_2 month_year_09_2026

Zwitterionic-Cationic, Catechol-Based Polyesters Reinforced by In Situ Sol–Gel Inorganic Nanoparticles for Rebondable Waterborne Adhesion Chen-Wei Yang (24998383) Man-kit Leung (1415257) Space Science Physical Sciences not elsewhere classified Biotechnology Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified Ecology Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified exhibit excellent hydrophilicity edx analyses reveal corresponding chemical states 72 ± 0 47 ± 0 34 ± 0 27 ± 1 psbd0 – psbd4 mild basic conditions 09 ± 0 macroscopic adhesion strength inspired catechol functionalities catechol incorporation enhances based polyester backbone based ), corresponding 29 </ sup si nmr analysis situ </ italic based polyesters reinforced situ </ shear strength rebondable adhesion free psbd0 best conditions 09 mpa study demonstrates shear strengths scheme interpreting repeated wetting reinforcement mechanism performance relationship optimal catechol observed enhancement likely accounts drying processes borne systems bearing formulation 78 mpa 54 mpa 22 mpa Unlike conventional solvent-borne systems, which raise concerns regarding volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and toxicity, the waterborne polymer adhesives developed in this study incorporate marine mussel-inspired catechol functionalities and zwitterionic/cationic moieties into a terephthalate-based polyester backbone. The resulting polymers, PSBD0–PSBD4, exhibit excellent hydrophilicity and rebondable adhesion. The optimal catechol-bearing formulation, PSBD2, shows a lap-shear strength of 2.09 ± 0.09 MPa, an 83% increase over the catechol-free PSBD0. The polymers are further reinforced by <i>in situ</i> generated Ti- or Si-based sol–gel inorganic nanoparticles. The corresponding PSBD composites achieved average lap-shear strengths of 2.47 ± 0.22 MPa (Ti-based) and 2.72 ± 0.54 MPa (Si-based), corresponding to 18% and 30% increases over neat PSBD2, and the highest single cycle lap-shear strengths reached 3.27 ± 1.18 MPa (Ti-based) and 3.34 ± 0.78 MPa (Si-based) under the best conditions. Furthermore, the polymer can be hydrolyzed under mild basic conditions. SEM and EDX analyses reveal that catechol incorporation enhances the morphological and sol–gel distribution homogeneity of the materials, which likely accounts for the observed enhancement in macroscopic adhesion strength. TEM analysis reveals continuous particle growth within the composites during the repeated wetting/drying processes, and solid-state ²⁹Si NMR analysis was used to characterize the corresponding chemical states. Finally, a scheme interpreting the reinforcement mechanism and the structure-performance relationship is proposed. This study demonstrates a viable molecular design strategy for developing waterborne polymer adhesives. 2026-09-16T00:00:00Z Dataset Media 10.1021/acsapm.6c02315.s002 https://figshare.com/articles/media/Zwitterionic-Cationic_Catechol-Based_Polyesters_Reinforced_by_In_Situ_Sol_Gel_Inorganic_Nanoparticles_for_Rebondable_Waterborne_Adhesion/33863731 CC BY-NC 4.0