The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

Surface coatings on desired materials are of immense scientific and technological interest, as they allow control over the interaction between their surfaces and surrounding environments. Recently, two versatile surface coating methods emerged based on the self-polymerization of dopamine and the self-assembly of metal-phenolic networks (MPN). The former method is inspired by the adhesive proteins secreted by marine mussels which contain large amounts of catechol moieties. The latter method can be carried out by simply mixing polyphenols and metal ions in water in the presence of the desired substrates. Film build-ups are initiated by the adsorption of the phenolic moieties and guided by pH-dependent, multivalent coordination bonds. In this presentation, the detail of these two methods is discussed and the MPN coating of cellulose nanofibers will be presented.