Adhesives & Sealants Industry Top Stories

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While media headlines over the past 18 months have been largely dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the focus on environmental impact and climate change has never been far away. More recently, it has come to particular prominence ahead of the COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference that will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, as well as the extreme weather conditions experienced by several U.S. states.

Structural adhesives, also known as load-bearing adhesives, are substances that harden and fasten two similar or dissimilar substrate elements with high-modulus, high-strength, and permanent bonds.

The ASSEMBLY Show will return October 24-26, live and in person at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IlI.

Hybrid sealants are best defined as a fusion of technologies: the best performance properties of urethanes combined with the best of silicones.

When manufacturers are looking to use adhesives in an assembly operation, three steps must enter into the decision process: suitability, compatibility, and capability.

Hydrogenated styrenic block copolymers (HSBCs) are suitable for elastomeric adhesive applications. They are used in hot-melt adhesives (HMAs) and solvent-based adhesives, as well as in plastics modification for consumer and industrial applications

UV LEDs with peak spectral outputs of 365, 385, 395, or 405 nanometers (nm) are increasingly being used to cure adhesives formulated to work with LEDs. The impact of spectral differences should be evaluated based on the adhesive, photoinitiator package, and desired cure properties.

A recent study finds that naphthenic oils can offer a viable alternative to silicones in construction sealants. A newly developed range of specialty oils also provides formulators with the right balance between viscosity, color stability, and volatility.