Mussel‐inspired polymer materials derived from nonphytogenic and phytogenic catechol derivatives and their applications

When it comes to underwater adhesion, mussel is the true expert that can firmly attach onto wet rocks under dynamic and turbulent environments. Catechol‐like 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylalanine and its biochemical interactions have been largely implicated in mussels' strong adhesion to various substrates. We successfully determined that a copolymerization polymer molecule could be designed according to the catechol structural features and that high‐performance biomimetic mussel materials can be prepared from petrochemical materials or renewable materials, and because of their excellent performance in various application areas show a broad application prospect. The adhesion mechanism of the mussel protein and the recent advances in biomimetic mussel protein polymers based on nonphytogenic catechol derivatives and phytogenic catechol derivatives from different sources are comprehensively summarized. By comparing the application of nonphytogenic catechol derivatives and phytogenic catechol derivatives in industrial and biomedical fields, we found that the synthesis of phytogenic catechol derivatives is more facile and universal, and their application performance is as good as that of nonphytogenic catechol derivatives. In addition, the challenges and prospects for this field in the future are also discussed.