Polyelectrolyte complexation is critical to the formation and properties of many biological and polymeric materials, and is typically initiated by aqueous mixing1 followed by fluid–fluid phase separation, such as coacervation2–5. Yet little to nothing is known about how coacervates evolve into intricate solid microarchitectures. Inspired by the chemical features of the cement proteins of the sandcastle worm, here we report a versatile and strong wet-contact microporous adhesive resulting from polyelectrolyte complexation triggered by solvent exchange. After premixing a catechol-functionalized weak polyanion with a polycation in dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO), the solution was applied underwater to various substrates whereupon electrostatic complexation, phase inversion, and rapid setting were simultaneously actuated by water–DMSO solvent exchange. Spatial and temporal coordination of complexation, inversion and setting fostered rapid (~25 s) and robust underwater contact adhesion (Wad ≥ 2 J m−2) of complexed catecholic polyelectrolytes to all tested surfaces including plastics, glasses, metals and biological materials.

Conjugated polymers with a one-dimensional p-orbital overlap exhibit optoelectronic anisotropy. Their unique anisotropic properties can be fully realized in device applications only when the conjugated chains are aligned. Here, we report a molecular design principle of conjugated polymers to achieve concentration-regulated chain planarization, self-assembly, liquid-crystal-like good mobility and non-interdigitated side chains. As a consequence of these intra- and intermolecular attributes, chain alignment along an applied flow field occurs. This liquid-crystalline conjugated polymer was realized by incorporating intramolecular sulphur-fluorine interactions and bulky side chains linked to a tetrahedral carbon having a large form factor. By optimizing the polymer concentration and the flow field, we could achieve a high dichroic ratio of 16.67 in emission from conducting conjugated polymer films. Two-dimensional grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction was performed to analyse a well-defined conjugated polymer alignment. Thin-film transistors built on highly aligned conjugated polymer films showed more than three orders of magnitude faster carrier mobility along the conjugated polymer alignment direction than the perpendicular direction.

Herein we report a rational design strategy for tailoring intermolecular interactions to enhance room-temperature phosphorescence from purely organic materials in amorphous matrices at ambient conditions. The built-in strong halogen and hydrogen bonding between the newly developed phosphor G1 and the poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) matrix efficiently suppresses vibrational dissipation and thus enables bright room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) with quantum yields reaching 24%. Furthermore, we found that modulation of the strength of halogen and hydrogen bonding in the G1-PVA system by water molecules produced unique reversible phosphorescence-to-fluorescence switching behavior. This unique system can be utilized as a ratiometric water sensor.

Numerous attempts have been made to translate mussel adhesion to diverse synthetic platforms. However, the translation remains largely limited to the Dopa (3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine) or catechol functionality, which continues to raise concerns about Dopa's inherent susceptibility to oxidation. Mussels have evolved adaptations to stabilize Dopa against oxidation. For example, in mussel foot protein 3 slow (mfp-3s, one of two electrophoretically distinct interfacial adhesive proteins in mussel plaques), the high proportion of hydrophobic amino acid residues in the flanking sequence around Dopa increases Dopa's oxidation potential. In this study, copolyampholytes, which combine the catechol functionality with amphiphilic and ionic features of mfp-3s, were synthesized and formulated as coacervates for adhesive deposition on surfaces. The ratio of hydrophilic/hydrophobic as well as cationic/anionic units was varied in order to enhance coacervate formation and wet adhesion properties. Aqueous solutions of two of the four mfp-3s-inspired copolymers showed coacervate-like spherical microdroplets (ϕ ≈ 1−5 μm at pH ∼4 (salt concentration ∼15 mM). The mfp-3s-mimetic copolymer was stable to oxidation, formed coacervates that spread evenly over mica, and strongly bonded to mica surfaces (pull-off strength: ∼17.0 mJ/m 2 ). Increasing pH to 7 after coacervate deposition at pH 4 doubled the bonding strength to ∼32.9 mJ/m 2 without oxidative cross-linking and is about 9 times higher than native mfp-3s cohesion. This study expands the scope of translating mussel adhesion from simple Dopa-functionalization to mimicking the context of the local environment around Dopa. M arine mussels (Figure 1a) attach to hard surfaces, e.g., mineral and metal, in the intertidal zone where waves with and without suspended sand often exceed 25 m/sec velocities. 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine (Dopa), a main constituent in mussel foot proteins (mfps) and substantially contributing to wet adhesion, has been incorporated in synthetic polymers to mimic the bio wet-adhesion. 1−5 However, other constitutional features of mfps, e.g., cationic residues (lysine, K), anionic residues (aspartic acid, D), nonionic polar residues (asparagine, N), and nonpolar residues (alanine, A), have not typically been included in mussel-inspired synthetic wet-adhesion systems. 1,2Here, we studied the microphase behavior and wet-adhesion of copolyampholytes with fixed catechol content and varied other key functionalities. Potential effects of aromatic moieties (Tyr, Trp) besides Dopa in mfp-3s have not been specifically tested in the present structural design of the model copolyampholytes. Conditions for the experiments were adjusted according to the microenvironmental conditions of adhesive protein deposition under the mussel's foot including acidic to neutral pH and ionic strength of ≤100 mM. 3,4 In mussel adhesion, polyelectrolyte adhesive proteins or mfps are presented to target surfaces after being condensed as a dense fluid by complex coacervation, a critical ste...

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