ADHESIVES

ADHESIVES

Adhesive is a substance used for sticking two

unlike bodies together, due to molecular
forces existing in the area of contact.
All adhesives either contain polymers,or
polymers are formed within the adhesive
bond.
The development of adhesives has continued
over the centuries to meet the requirements
of various civilisations;but it was not until the
industrial revolution that demands were made
for major advances in adhesive technology.

TYPES OF ADHESIVES

Adhesives are of two types:

Thermosetting adhesives
Thermoplastic adhesives

THERMOSETTING RESINS
A material that hardens when heated and cannot be
remolded.
Silicon

resins

They set under the effect of atmospheric moisture,

resistant to temperature, fungi, insects and chemicals.
Uses

For bonding of silicate containing materials, plastics,

rubbers, metals etc

 Phenol-formaldehyde

resins
This is a pressure sensitive type of adhesive. The
adherend surfaces after being coated with this adhesive
is subjected to curing by heat and pressure
Uses

This is available as solid, liquid or impregnated film and

used for bonding wood and metal
Polyesters

Unsaturated polyesters dissolved in styrene or

methacrylates are used as reactive adhesives. They
possess good moisture resistance but low heat
resistance.
Uses

Used for making laminated glass and cloth

THERMOPLASTIC RESINS
A material that softens when heated and hardens again
when cooled.

Cellulose derivatives

Cellulose nitrate is used as a raw material for solvent

adhesives. Cellulose nitrate mixed with alcohol is well
known as collodion. The adhesive film developed by
cellulose nitrate is resistant to water but affected by
strong acids and alkalies and aging. It is inflammable and
in recent years it is replaced by others.
Uses

As multipurpose adhesive, shoe adhesive.

Starch

and dextrin adhesives

The raw materials used for various types of starch and dextrin
based adhesives are potato starch, corn starch etc. A suspension
of starch is heated for sometime to obtain the adhesive which is
cheap, can be applied in cold and hot states but bond strength is
low and susceptible to moisture.
Uses

For making envelopes, stamps, books etc.

Poly-vinyls

Polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl propionate form

hard films resistant to atmospheric conditions and chemicals.
Polyvinyl acetate in combination with phenolic resins forms
special adhesives.
Uses

For bonding of glass, metals etc. smooth surfaces and also in

sealing of food materials.

FACTORS INFLUENCING
Smoothness

PHYSICAL
ADHESIVE

of the adherend surfaces: For wood

surfaces smoothness of the surfaces adds to the bonding

strength of adhesives. In the case of other porous materials
like paper, leather etc., the large number of capillaries
preferentially enclose the liquid portion of the adhesive and
disturb the equilibrium distribution of the adhesive on the
adherend surface leading to weak joint formation.

Surface

tension: The wetting characteristics of an

adhesive depend on its viscosity and surface tension. The

bonding between the surfaces is better when the surfaces
can be adhesives uniformly wetted by the adhesive sol which
is guided by the interfacial tension between the two. When
this tension becomes minimum, the surface is better wetted.

Thickness of the adhesive film: Very viscous

adhesives produce thick film but do not wet the
surfaces properly leaving many voids and hence the
bonding becomes weak. This bond strength can be
improved by applying pressure. The bonding strength
can also be increased by adding solvent and/or
plasticizer to decrease the viscosity.

Physical characters of the adhesive film:

The
bonding strength of the adhesive film is influenced by the
following physical characteristics of the film.

Tensile strength, shear strength and compressive

strength of the film: These three characteristics
influence the bonding strength in a positive way

Creep rate Highly plasticized adhesives have higher

creep rates under stress conditions than the rigid
thermosetting materials. Creep rate under stressed
condition should be lower for better adhesives.

Difference in thermal coefficients of expansion of

adherends and adhesive When this difference is high
the bonding strength weakens under temperature
variations. Substance can be added to the adhesive to
alter the thermal coefficient of expansion to match
with that of the adherend and hence increasing the
bond strength.

Application modes of adhesives: The mode of

application of adhesive on the surface tobe joined also

influences the bonding strength. Pressure,
temperature and time are the factorsthat affect this
strength after the application of the adhesive.
Sufficient time is to be allowedso that the curing time
be enough to establish a strong bonding. Similarly,
temperature also affects the process of bonding by
allowing the solvent to evaporate. Less pressure is
required in case the adherend surfaces are smooth but
in the case of porous surfaces, pressure should be
applied to join the surfaces together.

CHEMICAL FACTORS AFFECTING

THE ADHESIVE STRENGTH

Degree of polymerization: Bond strength of the

adhesive is affected by the extent ofpolymerization
of the monomers. Degree of polymerization best
suited for adhesive action is different for different
adhesives.

Polarity of adhesives: For organic contacting

surfaces polar-group containing adhesives provide

better bond strength than non-polar adhesives. Thus,
addition of polar molecules to the non-polar adhesives
increases the adhesive power.

 Complexity

of

the

adhesive

molecule:

Complexity and chain length influence the adhesive

action. In the case of phenol-aldehyde resin the higher
mol. wt. products have greater adhesive action.
Similarly, in the case of cellulose esters the optimum
chain length of fatty acid is from 6 to 14 for better
bond strength.

Effect of Ph: Strong acids and strong alkalies

affect the bond strength of adhesives negatively. But

the effects of pH are different in the case of
different type of adhesives.

ADHESIVE STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT

By

chemical reaction:

By

solvent evaporation:

The reactive low molecular wt. mono and/or oligomeric

ingredients of thermosetting adhesives are converted
by chemical reaction into high mol. wt., cross linked
three-dimensional polymers with high bond strength.
The adhesive is dissolved or dispersed in a solvent and
applied to the surfaces to be bonded and they are
brought in contact with each other. The solvent gets
evaporated and thereby gelling and finally hardening
takes place leading to strong bonding between the
surfaces.

By

pressure application:

Tacky substances in solvent-free form adhere

spontaneously to the surfaces of most
materials, only
under pressure
By

cooling:

Thermoplastic materials are applied to the adherend

surfaces in a molten and hot condition which on
cooling
solidifies developing bonding strength

ADHESIVE APPLICATIONS
Adhesives

are dissolved in proper solvents. Solid

adhesives are melted, very viscous adhesives are
thinned with solvent, plasticizers, catalysts, hardners
etc. added in proper proportion.
Uniform addition of calculated quantity of adhesive is
required for proper bonding strength, so the method of
application is very important. Developing on the size and
nature ofthe surface and rheologic properties of the
adhesive, different methods of application are used as
follows:1.
2.

By manual application with brushes, casting knives,

spatulas, blades etc.
By rollers

3.
4.
5.
6.

7.

8.

Thin-flowing sprayable adhesives are distributed

uniformly over large areas with spray guns.
Highly viscous adhesives applied as coatings.
Dry adhesives are laid as film or sheet
For chemically reactive systems, one component is the
thermosetting resin, which is applied to one surface
and theother being the catalyst applied to the other
surface to be bonded.
For immediately reacting and hardeningadhesives, the
components are applied tothe adherend surfaces
immediately beforejoining by double spray.
Cyanoacrylate adhesives and anaerobic reactive
adhesives are applied by means ofspecial metering
units that delivers small metered quantities at
specified timeintervals

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