Dikshit Karan Vivek, Visal Aseem Milind, Janssen Femke, Larsen Alexander, Bruns Carson J
Materials Science and Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80303, United States.
Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80303, United States.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2023 Apr 5;15(13):17256-17267. doi: 10.1021/acsami.3c00927. Epub 2023 Mar 16.
Slide-ring materials are polymer networks with mobile cross-links that exhibit impressive stress dissipation and fracture resistance owing to the pulley effect. On account of their remarkable ability to dissipate the energy of deformation, these materials have found their way into advanced materials such as abrasion-resistant coatings and elastic battery electrode binders. In this work, we explore the role of mobile cross-links on the properties of a biofriendly pressure-sensitive adhesive made using composites of cyclodextrin-based macromolecules and poly(lipoic acid). We modify cyclodextrin-based hosts and polyrotaxanes with pendant groups of lipoic acid (a commonly ingested antioxidant) to incorporate them as cross-links in poly(lipoic acid) networks obtained by simple heating in open air. By systematically varying the adhesive formulations while probing their mechanical and adhesive properties, we uncover trends in structure-property relationships that enable one to tune network properties and access biofriendly, high-tack adhesives.
