Bostik’s Born2Bond™ R&D team released details of a new cyanoacrylate-based adhesive prototype at the in-adhesives event, which was held May 12-13, 2022. According to the company, products are being developed that will see instant adhesives used for long-term critical applications such as those required in the automotive and electronics industry.

In a presentation entitled “New n-Butyl cyanoacrylate-based adhesive to combine flexibility, humidity resistance and low CLP,” the team discussed the new two-component (2K) solution’s long-term durability, which Bostik believes will enable instant adhesives to be relied on for longer-term, structural engineering use beyond repair and maintenance applications.

According to the company, the development has been achieved due to the use of n-Butyl cyanoacrylate (BuCa), a hydrophobic monomer that when properly formulated becomes a highly flexible polymer, recognized as the main component of many existing instant medical-grade adhesives. In addition to the automotive industry, other use cases will be in audio systems and wearable technology.

Bostik reports that the technology’s inherent flexible and hydrophobic qualities mean that bonding integrity is maintained even for applications where vibrating or humid environments are common or when impact and high levels of wear and tear are likely (e.g., mobile phones and smart watches). Whereas current flexible instant adhesives offer approximately 10% elongation, this new technology provides up to 100% elongation, which is ideal for applications that require flexing (e.g., a tweeter in a loudspeaker).

“It will fill a gap in the market, delivering a hybrid solution for engineers needing to utilise more efficient manufacturing processes, but also requiring impact resistant and flexible results that will remain stable over many years,” said Arnau Pejoan, Engineering Adhesives R&D team leader, who led the in-adhesives presentation. “The product has been developed directly as a result of customer demand and feedback, and our team are proud to be working on a product that provides a genuinely unique proposition to the market.”

According to Polivio Goncalves, Bostik’s global head for Engineering Adhesives, “Our parent company Arkema made a significant investment in CMC (Crackless Monomer Company) so we could accelerate the development and production of high value-added engineering adhesives. The investment complemented the acquisition of Afinitica in 2018, which saw the expansion of our range of instant engineering adhesives manufactured through the patented ‘crackless process.’ It was these acquisitions, and the investment in dedicated expertise that has enabled us to develop this market-first solution.”

For more information, visit born2bond.bostik.com and www.in-adhesives.com.