Bioinspired catecholic chemistry for surface modification

The attachment strategy based on catecholic chemistry has been arousing renewed interest since the work on polymerized catecholic amine (polydopamine) (Messersmith et al., Science , 2007, 318 , 426) was published. Catechols and their derived compounds can self-assemble on various inorganic and organic materials, including noble metals, metals, metal oxides, mica, silica, ceramics and even polymers. It opens a new route to the modification of various substrates and the preparation of functional composite materials by simple chemistry. However, there is still not a full review so far about the attachment chemistry despite the dramatically increasing number of publications. This critical review describes the state-of-the-art research in the area: the design and synthesis of catecholic molecules, their adsorption mechanisms and the stability of assemblies in solution, and their applications etc . Some perspectives on future development are raised (195 references). Catecholic compounds can self-assemble onto a variety of substrates, opening a new route to the modification of various substrates and the preparation of functional composite materials.