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