Morphogen Electrochemically Triggered Self-Construction of Polymeric Films Based on Mussel-Inspired Chemistry

Inspired by the strong chemical adhesion mechanism of mussels, we designed a catechol-based electrochemically triggered self-assembly of films based on ethylene glycol molecules bearing catechol groups on both sides and denoted as bis-catechol molecules. These molecules play the role of morphogens and, in contrast to previously investigated systems, they are also one of the constituents, after reaction, of the film. Unable to interact together, commercially available poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) chains and biscatechol molecules are mixed in an aqueous solution and brought in contact with an electrode. By application of defined potential cycles, bis-catechol molecules undergo oxidation leading to molecules bearing “reactive” quinone groups which diffuse toward the solution. In this active state, the quinones react with amino groups of PAH through Michael addition and Schiff’s base condensation reaction. The application of cyclic voltammetry (CV) between 0 and 500 mV (vs Ag/AgCl, scan rate of 50 mV/s) of a PAH/biscatechol solution results in a fast self-construction of a film that reaches a thickness of 40 nm after 60 min. The films present a spiky structure which is attributed to the use of bis-functionalized molecules as one component of the films. XPS measurements show the presence of both PAH and bis-catechol cross-linked together in a covalent way. We show that the amine/catechol ratio is an important parameter which governs the film buildup. For a given amine/catechol ratio, it does exist an optimum CV scan rate leading to a maximum of the film thickness as a function of the scan rate.