Scientists believe that the new adhesive will be useful in heavy industry and the aerospace industry, for example, for rockets that encounter temperature changes. The new substance belongs to the class of supramolecular adhesives.

How does the new adhesive work?

The parts of the mixture are specially designed to form strong bonds to itself during the curing process. The authors reported that one of the components is a ring-shaped molecule known as crown ether, while the other is a small protein produced by bacteria.

When the described components come into contact and the mixture is heated, the crown ether protein turns and reliably binds to any surface. In a series of tests, the scientists glued two steel plates together and found that they could withstand forces of up to 22 megapascals. At the same time, the adhesive worked not only at room temperature, but also in any range from -196 to 200 °C. It also showed high strength properties when working with other materials and did not crumble even under water.

The team explained the success with strong supramolecular interactions – a strong bond removes water from the protein. This means that, due to the drop in temperature, ice crystals cannot form and break up the material, as with other adhesives. An additional advantage of the new technology is its versatility. The blocking components of the adhesive can be removed and recycled, then the regenerated mixture can bind new materials with the same strength.

The authors added that this supramolecular adhesive would be particularly useful in scenarios where solid objects are subjected to severe temperature fluctuations. However, it will be easier to service metal-using industries, as well as repair spacecraft and rockets in Earth or lunar orbit.