Mechanism preformed adhesives

Many of these features are interrelated. Finely divided soHds such as talc [14807-96-6] are excellent barriers to mechanical interlocking and interdiffusion. They also reduce the area of contact over which short-range intermolecular forces can interact. Because compatibiUty of different polymers is the exception rather than the rule, preformed sheets of a different polymer usually prevent interdiffusion and are an effective way of controlling adhesion, provided no new strong interfacial interactions are thereby introduced. Surface tension and thermodynamic work of adhesion are interrelated, as shown in equations 1, 2, and 3, and are a direct consequence of the intermolecular forces that also control adsorption and chemical reactivity. 

Yan et al. [52] explored the use of IPN techniques to produce a composite vinyl-acrylic latex. The first-formed polymer was produced using VAc and divinyl benzene (DVB), while the second formed polymer constituted a BA/DVB copolymer. In both cases the DVB was added at 0.4 wt%. They compared this product with another product, a bidirectional interpenetrating netwodc (BIPN) in which VAc was again polymerized over the first IPN. They noted that the compatibility between the phases was more pronounced in the BIPN than in the IPN as determined using dynamic mechanical measurements and C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The concept of polymer miscibility has also been used to produce composite latex particles and thus modify the pafamance properties of VAc latexes. Bott et al. [53] describe a process whereby they bloid VAc/ethylene (VAc/E) copolymers with copolymers of acrylic acid or maleic anhydride and determine windows of miscibility. Apparently an ethyl acrylate or BA copolymer with 10-25 wt% AA is compatible with a VAc/E copolymer of 5-30 wt% ethylene. The information obtained from this woik was then used to form blends of latex polymers by polymerizing suitable mixtures of monomers into preformed VAc/E copolymers. The products are said to be useful for coating adhesives and caulks. 

Preformed particles are incorporated into the epoxy matrix by simple mechanical mixing. The dispersibility of the particles can be improved by 1) introducing crosslinking into the shell or 2) using comonomer-like acrylonitrile or GMA, which increases the interfacial adhesion by polar or chemical interaction [96, 97]. Quan and co-workers [98] reported that for poly (butadiene-co-styrene) core poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) shell particles, the cluster size reduces from 3-5 pm to 1-3 pm as a result of using 5 wt% crosslinker (divinyl benzene). They also found that the cluster size could be further reduced to 1-2 pm by using a methyl methacrylate-acrylonitrile (MMA-AN) or methyl methacrylate-glycidyl methacrylate (MMA-GMA) copolymer shell composition. 

---