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Cation–π interactions

Mimicking mussel mechanics

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Gluing materials together underwater is a mighty challenge faced — and overcome — by mussels. It requires good adhesion and cohesion. Molecular-level mechanical measurements have now shown that cation–π interactions provide surprisingly strong cohesive abilities.

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Figure 1: Possible adhesive design drawing on the conclusions of Israelachvili and colleagues4.

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Henrik Birkedal is in the Department of Chemistry and iNANO at Aarhus University, 14 Gustav Wieds Vej, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark,

    Henrik Birkedal

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  1. Henrik Birkedal
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Correspondence to Henrik Birkedal.

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Birkedal, H. Mimicking mussel mechanics. Nature Chem 9, 408–409 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.2774

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