A Microwave-Responsive Supramolecular Adhesive for Strong Adhesion of Thermolabile Substrates

We report a microwave-responsive supramolecular adhesivethroughthe construction of cross-linked networks based on the coordinationinteraction between iron oxide nanoparticles and a catechol-basedpolymer. By microwave irradiation, the supramolecular adhesive canbe quickly and selectively heated, causing strong adhesion for thermolabilesubstrates with negligible thermal damage. It can firmly and reversiblybond with diverse plastic substrates and shows an adhesion strengthof 3.5 MPa toward glass fiber reinforced epoxy resin. Moreover, itdisplays excellent multiple reusability with almost no loss of adhesionstrength after ten times reuse. Owing to the strong penetrabilityof microwave heating, it is anticipated that this kind of supramolecularadhesive shows great potential in microelectronics and fine chemicalindustry.