Advances in Acrylic Hybrid Technology The Next Generation of PSAs
When used with appropriate crosslinkers and tackifiers, acrylic polymer systems can be designed to adhere to many different surfaces. One area, however, where acrylic-based systems have not performed so well is in adhesion to low energy plastic surfaces. This article examines one company's efforts to fill such a void in the pressure-sensitive adhesive industry.
Rubber-based systems have always been able to perform well on low surface energy materials, but they often exhibit poor stability over time and limited cohesive strength - part of the reason that led to the increased use of acrylic systems. We introduced our developments with rubber-acrylic hybrid adhesives1 at the 2001 PSTC meeting. These new systems were designed to fill a void in the pressure-sensitive adhesive industry. Our hybrid polymer systems combine the best performance attributes of both acrylic and rubber systems in a single material. This article discusses our most recent developments - an increased understanding of how these systems behave and perform, together with improvements to our original material.