Simple table salt powers new sticky polymer technology

Adhesives are everywhere, from household tapes to adhesives in cars and electronic devices. Research into stronger, more accommodating adhesives is currently underway, but ultimately involves adding small amounts of salt to two special polymer components known as polyzwitterions (PZIs). It may be.

New research by a FAMU-FSU School of Engineering team led by Hoyong Chung, associate professor in the School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, is a new study that harnesses the natural attraction between positively and negatively charged materials to create adhesives. I showed you how. The study was recently published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

“We want to use strategies that involve electrostatic interactions to create stronger and more versatile adhesives,” Chung said. “Our research focuses on two special polymers known as PZI, with the aim of making the bond more effective.”

The researchers compared bottlebrush polymers (branched from the main chain) and linear polymers, and were interested in how the shape of the polymer affects its stickiness. These two different shapes of polymers can be manipulated to improve adhesive properties.

One of the key findings of this study is that simply adding sodium chloride (salt) transforms a strong but brittle polymer into a strong and flexible one. Most adhesives are either strong or stretchy, but it’s difficult to find adhesives that are both. The amount of salt is key to making the glue strong and elastic.

“The initial key to our discovery lies in the sophisticated and precise design and synthesis of multifunctional polymers,” Chung said. “This new polymer provides a way to precisely tune the toughness and flexibility of adhesives, potentially having far-reaching implications for several industries. There was a belief in

Chung and his team’s discoveries lay the foundation for creating better industrial adhesives and highlight the importance of electrostatic interactions in the development of new materials. This discovery is a promising step toward their goal of creating the ideal adhesive suitable for a myriad of applications. Research will continue and will focus on developing biological tissue adhesives with drug delivery, imaging and disease diagnostic capabilities.

Chung collaborated on this research with postdoctoral researcher Biswajit Saha and graduate student Jacob Boykin from the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. Saha is the first author of this publication.

“Our findings show that the addition of salt may be the key to creating adhesives with both strength and flexibility,” Saha said. “We believe this research is a stepping stone toward our long-term goal of developing the ideal adhesive.”