Towards mussel-like on-demand coatings: light-triggered polymerization of dopamine through a photoinduced pH jump†
Abstract
Irradiation of quaternary ammonium salts of phenylglyoxylic acid used as photobase generators activates the release of a strong base in water followed by an important pH jump. This initiates the polymerization of dopamine, leading to an on-demand formation of highly adhesive coating on steel.