Reversible Mussel-Inspired Adhesive from Strong and Tough Dynamic Covalent Crosslinking Polymer

Adhesives represent an unparalleled material because of their wide utilization in various fields. However, reversible adhesives with recyclability or reprocessability are unexploited yet necessary in practical applications. Mussel-inspired chemistry is a powerful tool for the development of reversible adhesives owing to its multiple dynamic molecular-scale interactions. Here, we design and synthesize a mussel-inspired reversible adhesive with tough mechanical properties and great energy dissipation ability using a dynamic covalent crosslinking network. The mussel structure-based adhesive exhibits excellent adhesion strength and toughness due to the formed B–O bonds, coordination, and hydrogen interactions between substrates. Meanwhile, the dynamic boronic ester bonds endow the polymer with recyclability and debonding–rebonding capacity to satisfy the stable cyclic use of the materials, providing a sustainable adhesive for multi-bonding fields.