As the holiday season approaches, millions of people will turn to pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) tape to help check off their to-do list. From hanging decorations to wrapping gifts, PSA tape is a useful tool in a person’s seasonal arsenal.
However, not all PSA tapes are alike. When a pressure-sensitive tape is bonded to a surface, many different processes take place. Understanding these processes will help ensure that tapes are bonded correctly and perform as expected. The polymers used to make PSA tapes can behave as both liquids and solids, depending on the circumstances. It is the tapes’ liquid behavior that becomes important initially when sticking to surfaces.