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

We report a microwave-responsive supramolecular adhesive through the construction of cross-linked networks based on the coordination interaction between iron oxide nanoparticles and a catechol-based polymer. By microwave irradiation, the supramolecular adhesive can be quickly and selectively heated, causing strong adhesion for thermolabile substrates with negligible thermal damage. It can firmly and reversibly bond with diverse plastic substrates and shows an adhesion strength of 3.5 MPa toward glass fiber reinforced epoxy resin. Moreover, it displays excellent multiple reusability with almost no loss of adhesion strength after ten times reuse. Owing to the strong penetrability of microwave heating, it is anticipated that this kind of supramolecular adhesive shows great potential in microelectronics and fine chemical industry.