LAUSR

In 2007, polydopamine (PDA) films were shown to be formed spontaneously on the surface of all known classes of materials by simply dipping those substrates in an aerated dopamine solution at pH = 8.5 in the presence of Tris(hydroxymethyl) amino methane buffer. This universal deposition method raised a burst of interest in surface science, owing not only to the universality of this water based one pot deposition method but also to the ease of secondary modifications. Since then, PDA films and particles were shown to have applications in energy conversion, water remediation systems and last but not least in bioscience. The deposition of PDA films from aerated dopamine solutions is however a slow and inefficient process at ambient temperature with most of the formed material being lost as a precipitate. This incited to explore the possibility to get PDA and related films based on other catecholamines, using other oxidants than dissolved oxygen and other deposition methods. Those alternatives to get PDA and related films are reviewed and compared in this article. It will appear that many more investigations are required to get better insights in the relationships between the preparation method of PDA and the properties of the obtained coatings. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.