Overview of Adhesives and Epoxy Raw Materials

Epoxy resins were first introduced by Ciba-Geigy (UK) Ltd. in 1946 at the Swiss Industries Fair. In the 39 years since then, these versatile 

This section is intended to aid the technical person who must formulate an epoxy adhesive, coating, or sealer to meet specific performance requirements. It also will provide an overview of important new raw materials. The treatment will be substantive but not exhaustive. 

There are three classes of epoxy structural adhesives two-part room temperature-curable materials, one-part heat-curable paste materials, and film adhesives. In Table I key properties of each of these classes of adhesives are listed. 

It has been the experience of the authors that the cutting edge of important new technology in epoxy chemistry is mainly found in the trade literature of the suppliers. Patents and papers include much information, but the technology which works in the practical sense comes from those developments which are made available as new raw materials. 

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