ADHESIVES

Adhesives Adhesive Action, Classification, Physical and

chemical factors influencing adhesive action,
Bonding processes by adhesives
Adhesive: A substance used for sticking two unlike bodies together, due to
the molecular forces existing in the area of contact.
Or, Any substance capable of holding materials together by surface
attachment.
Adherends: The bodies or materials that are held together, are known as
adherends.
Bonding: The above process of holding one adherend to another by
adhesive is known as bonding.
Bond/Joint: The final assembly of two adherends and the adhesive is known
as bond/joint.

How to select a adhesive?

i) Degree of tackiness i.e., stickness ii) rapidity of bonding
iii) strength of bond setting on drying iv) durability
(A) Why do we need Adhesive?
i) Can be applied to the surfaces of any material and materials may be joined
together as glass & metal, metal & metal, metal & plastic, plastic & plastic,
and ceramic & ceramic.
ii) Structural membranes joined by adhesives are free from any residual
stresses and hence the internal strength of any material is fully operative.
iii) No high heat treatment is needed during bonding.
iv) Surfaces are easily and rapidly attached to each other.
v) Adhesives in-between surfaces act as heat-resistant and electrical
insulator.
vi) The process of adhesive application is very simple and no skilled worker is
needed.
vii) Less task/work after finishing bonding is needed compared to other
joining processes such as welding and soldering, etc.
viii) More smoother surfaces are made. Hence brake and clutch facings, aircraft
assemblies where revet-heads or other projections affect the performance
seriously prefer adhesives.
ix) New and better composite materials can be designed by efficient bonding
together various materials together by adhesives to get the advantage of the
best properties of each material. Eg. Flush doors, metal-faced plywoods, etc.
x) Galvanic corrosion of dissimilar joints is reduced.
xi) Adhesive joints are leak-proof for gases and liquids. Water-tight wood boats are
prepared by using this technology.
xii) Corrosion resistivity is improved by using adhesives.

Limitations of adhesive bonding

i) Due to organic nature adhesives can not tolerate high temp. and hence
bond strength decreases rapidly as the temp. rises.
ii) No single general purpose adhesive can join all types of surfaces. Smart
selection of adhesive for particular bonding conditions is important for
each set of substances to be bonded.
iii) Adhesives require sufficient time for their reactions of setting, curing, etc.
and they do not develop full-bonding strength and performance immediately
after applications unlike welding, soldering or mechanical joining by rivets.
iv) Generally susceptible to high humidity
v) Plain and very clean surfaces can be bonded with reliable strength
vi) Generally adhesive strength is lower than other joining methods like
welding, riveting, soldering, etc.
vii) Inspection and testing is difficult for bond/joint by using adhesives.

(B) Classification of adhesives

Adhesives are classified into 7 major classes based on its chemical nature.
i) Thermosetting synthetic resins, ii)Thermoplastic synthetic resins,
iii) Natural resin adhesives, iv) Starch adhesives, v) Inorganic adhesives,
vi) Vegetable glues/protein glues, vii) Animal glues
i) Thermosetting synthetic resins
Form 3-D compounds with cross-linked structures and possess great adhesive
properties such as insoluble, infusible and good resistance towards a) moisture
b) heat, c) insects, d) fungi, etc. Examples are as follows:
1) Phenol-formaldehyde resin: Available as solid, liquid or impregnated film.
The resin is applied on the two surfaces to be bonded and then, cured by
heating and pressing.
The film formed is hard and highly resistant to the action of insects, fungi,
water, etc.
Uses: Water-proof plywoods, laminates, and bonding articles in aircraft and
ship-building industries.
2) Urea-formaldehyde resin:
Transparent and syrupy compound which is used as-such or mixed with
water.
Water helps to form cross-linkages, promotes rapid setting and crack-free
bond-film. It works in cold, but a little heating accelerates curing.
Properties: i) quite strong, ii) good resistant to moisture, insects and fungi, iii)
less resistant to acid and alkalis after some time.
Uses: For bonding wooden surfaces, plywoods, laminates, article in aircrafts
and ship industries, etc.
3) Polyesters: good adhesive with alkyd (acid) resin.
Properties: Good water-resistance, but low heat resistance.
Uses: Making laminated glass and cloth
4) Epoxy resins: i) cured without heat treatment, ii) good chemical
resistance, iii) low shrinkage during curing, iv) good electrical-resistance
Mode of application: Used as solid or liquid. Usually modified by adding
some external compounds (like unsaturated fatty acid or amine) and some
solvents. A thin film develops after evaporation of liquid which possess
excellent adhesion.
Uses: For bonding glass, metallic and ceramic articles. Araldite in aircraft
industry.
5) Silicone resins: i) strong power to adhesion, ii) water repellency,
iii) intentness against living organism i.e., insects, fungi, etc iv) good
stability against high temp (~250oC), v) resistance chemicals and
atmospheric conditions.
Uses: For bonding metals, ceramics, plastics, rubbers, etc

ii) Thermoplastic synthetic resins

Soluble, fusible and poor water-resistant adhesives.
Soften on heating
1) Cellulose derivatives:
Collodion: cellulose nitrate + alcohol: tough, water-proof, but
inflammable, affected by acids and alkalis and deteriorates on aging
Uses: cloth and foot-wear industries
cellulose acetate + benzene: more resistant to heat than cellulose
nitrate, but weaker adhesive than collodion.
 ethyl cellulose admixed with some modifiers and plasticizers show good
adhesive property. Also, methyl cellulose admixed with hot water shows
excellent bonding properties. They have good water-resistance, but catch
fire easily. Also, they deteriorate on aging.
2) Acrylics like plexiglass: solution forms perfect adhesive films and stable
under all conditions. Hence it is costly.
Uses: In bonding cloth, paper, glass, leather, etc.
3) Polyvinyls (i.e., acetate and chloride): The bonded-film is hard, resistant
towards light, atmosphere and chemicals.
Uses: For bonding non-porous surfaces (like glasses, metals, etc.) and in
the sealing operations in food industry.

iii) Natural resin adhesives

1) Shellac resin: secreted by the female lac bug, on trees in the forests of
India and Thailand. One of the oldest adhesives is applied while hot. It
has good bond strength, hardness and low thermal conductivity.
Uses: In making belts, conveyers, etc.
2) Asphalt: Crude adhesive.
Uses: In bonding paper, cloth, and metals.

iv) Starch adhesives: prepared by heating starch suspension in water or

dil. HCl at 150oC to 175oC for small time.
Cheap, spread easily, dry quickly, no foul smell and applied in cold as well as
in hot state, but low resistant to moisture and adhesive strength.
Uses: For manufacturing envelopes, stamps, note-books, binding books and
other paper goods.

v) Inorganic adhesives (like sodium silicate):

Heating soda-ash with sand mixed with litharge, MnO2, etc is suspended
in water to form a gel. The bond is fungus-resistant, but moisture reduces
its strength as well as high temperature without crack formation.
Uses: Packing kits, paper boxes, card-board containers, etc.
vi) Vegetable glues or protein glues: Prepared from soyabeans,
corn, casein, albumin, peanuts, etc.
1) Soyabean glue: The left over materials after oil extraction from
soyabeans is mixed with milk of lime [Ca(OH)2] and caustic soda to form
a jelly-like adhesive paste.
2) Casein glue: Skimmed milk is curdled with dilute acid and solid casein
precipitates. The casein is separated, dried and mixed with lime and
preservative. The powder so-formed is mixed with water to form jelly-like
adhesive paste.
Vegetable glues have less bond strength, but remarkably cheap.
Uses: For common adhesive jobs
1) Animal glues (popular-variety of protein glues): Prepared from bones
of dead animals, wastes of animals, wastes of slaughter-houses and hide
scraps from leather industry.
Procedure: The waste is purified first, degreased by adding benzene and
then treated with HCl (to remove calcium phosphate. The product is
hydrolyzed by hot water to form liquor glue. Then, filtered, bleached (with
SO2) and mixed with borax, formaldehyde (as preservative) and
concentrated. Then, the concentrated glue is allowed to cool to form
cakes of glue as precipitates. Finally, the cakes are dried and cut into
flakes or powdered. For using, cakes/flakes or powder is boiled with water
to get a jelly-like mass.
Properties: Good adhesive strength, but poor resistance towards moisture
and fungus.
Uses: Manufacturing furniture, radio-cabinets, card-boxes, etc.
(C) Adhesive action:
i) Specific adhesion: Attachment of surfaces by adhesive is mostly due to
chemical (or valence) or physical (or intermolecular) forces of attraction. This
is two steps process: i) wetting of adherend by adhesive and ii) contact in
molecular dimensions.
ii) Permanent adhesion: If the interfacial boundary energy of the adhesive
and the adherend surfaces is lower than the sum of the surfaces of the
adhesive and the adherends.
iii) Mechanical adhesion: The adhesive may fill the voids or the pores of
rough surfaces and hold the surfaces by interlocking action.
iv) Fusion adhesion: In some cases the surfaces are partially dissolved in
the adhesive or its solvent and bonding of surfaces take place.
(D) Development of adhesive strength: By four different ways.
i) By loss of solvent: The adhesives are dissolved or dispersed in water or
in a suitable solvent. Then the solution/dispersion is applied on the
adherend surfaces followed by contacting each other. During contact
some solvent may evaporate or enter into the pores on the surfaces which
results loss of solvent. This loss of solvent initiates gelling or hardening of
adhesive which creates development of bond strength.
Examples: Water-soluble or oil soluble elastomers
ii) By cooling of hot molten mass: Fusible adhesives like thermoplastics
belongs to this group. They are applied hot to the bonding surfaces in
liquid conditions.
iii) By applying pressure: Highly viscous and pressure-sensitive adhesives
develop bond strength instantaneously when high pressure is applied.
iv) By chemical reaction: The ingredients of thermosetting adhesive
materials react together during the curing and cross-linking process which
develop very high bond strength.

(E) Physical factors influencing adhesive action:

i) Surface tension: It is very important for liquid adhesive. It can show
adhesive action if it wets the adherend surfaces which depend on two
factors a) surface tension and b) viscosity.
The attraction between the liquid adhesive and the adherend
surface is maximum, when the interfacial tension between the two is
minimum.
If the solvent of the adhesive is also a solvent for the materials of
the surfaces to be bonded, then solvent bites the solid surfaces and
the interface is replaced by a solid solution.
 A variable composition-gradient from the adhesive layer to the solid
surfaces develops and consequently bonding occurs tenaciously.
ii) Porosity and smoothness of the contacting surfaces:
Porous materials such as paper, wood, leather, etc have large numbers
of capillaries/asperities on their surfaces which conduct the more mobile
portion of the adhesive.
Also, this disturbs the equilibrium between the solute and solvent in the
adhesive. Eventually it develops a weak joint.
In some cases it is advantageous. Sodium silicate adhesive removes
water via diffusion into the capillaries and causes rapid development of
bond strength.
In case wood, smooth and properly plained surfaces get bonded
together more tenaciously than rough surfaces.
iii) Physical characteristics of adhesive film:
The bond strength of an adhesive depends on a) tensile-strength, b) shear-
strength, c) compressive-strength, d) modulus of elasticity, e) creep-rate, f)
thermal coefficient of expansion of the adhesive film.
Greater tensile-, shear- and compressive- strength, more bonding strength
Minimum creep-rate under the stress of structure, good adhesive film.
Thermoplastic materials creep more rapidly than thermosetting materials.
Thermal coefficients of expansion of adhesive and the adherend surfaces
play a significant role in determining the bond strength developed under
considerable temperature variations. Minimum difference in their values
leads to a strong bond strength. Finely powdered inorganic substances
such as aluminium oxide to the adhesives lowers its thermal coefficient of
expansion to a range nearing to that of glass, metals, etc.
iv) Thickness of the adhesive film:
The thickness of the adhesive film is indirectly proportional to the viscosity
of the adhesive solution. Highly viscous adhesives form thick film with too
many voids which reduces cohesive-strength.
Under pressure high viscosity increases bond strength with controlled
thickness of the adhesive film.
Addition of a solvent or plasticizer lowers the viscosity of a high polymer
and hence, gives a thin-film of the adhesive with increased bond strength.
In case of non-volatile adhesive (either solvent or components) the bond-
strength is independent of adhesive film thickness.
v) Technique of application of adhesive:
Method of adhesive application greatly influences the strength of the bond
developed.
Physical form of the adhesive i.e., a liquid form or a powdered form or a
combination of both controls the strength of adhesive bond.
 Irrespective of mode of application factors like pressure, temperature and
time have definite bearing on the final strength of the bond.
Time and temperature controls full-curing and drying of the adhesive film.
Without full-curing the strength of the adhesive bond is weak.
Pressure indirectly controls the thickness of the adhesive film. Perfectly
flat and non-porous surfaces require very little pressure to avoid squeezed
out of the adhesive film.
For porous surfaces (like wood) sufficient pressure is applied to develop
desirable strength between the adhesive and the adherend surfaces in due
course of time.
(F) Chemical factors influencing adhesive action:
i) Polar characteristics of adhesive:
Polar-group containing adhesives adhere strongly to the organic
contacting surfaces. A non-polar adhesive becomes polar with the blending
of polar molecules and consequently its adhesive strength also increases.
As a result, maleic acid is added to polyvinyl chloride/acetate to increase
its adhesive strength.
ii) Degree of polymerization: The semi-solid fractions of resin adhesive
exhibits more adhesive strength than highly-cured and tough-fractions.
For maximum bond strength of an adhesive, its degree of polymerization
should lie in a range between highly unpolymerized fractions and highly
polymerized fractions.
Adhesives from cellulose derivatives are best-suited, if they underdone a
partial degradation to lower-molecular-weight product.
iii) Side-chains in adhesive molecule:
The chemical nature, length and the complexity of the side-chains in the
adhesive play a major role in the development of bond strength of adhesives.
In case of cellulose esters, best adhesive action is obtained if the side
chains consist of 6 to 14 carbon atoms.
Similarly, condensation products of higher aldehydes with phenol possess
higher adhesive strengths than that of lower aldehyde-phenol resins .
iv) Effect of pH:
It has been found that presence of strong acids and bases are harmful to
the adhesive bond strength. Acids and bases are more harmful to cellulose
materials (like wood) than on non-porous organic plastics and metallic
surfaces.
Protein origin glues exhibits better adhesive strength in the presence of
lime which makes the medium slightly alkaline.
 Vulcanized rubbers and organic plastics show better adhesive strength at
lower pH (i.e., in acidic medium).

(G) Bonding processes by adhesives: Due to the complexity of

nature of adherend surfaces, composition of adhesives and service
conditions the exact bonding process differs and mostly depends on the
adhesive suppliers. The following general steps are common to most of the
adhesive applications.
i) Preparation of adherends:
Wood or metal adherend surfaces are made flat and true-plained surfaces
using machine which helps to join surfaces by thin adhesive film.
Plastic surfaces are prepared by applying high temperature and pressure
and hence slightly sand-blasted to expose fresh surfaces are better for
bonding.
Chemical treatments like solvent washing, immersion in acid or alkali bath,
vapour degreasing, or electrolytic methods are use to reomove grease, oil
and other unwanted materials from the adherend surfaces.
Such chemical treatments improve specific adhesion after removal of low
cohesive strength materials like metallic oxides, etc., from their surfaces.
Specific solvent or alkaline surface-treatment are applied to wood surfaces
to remove oily and resinous extracts.
ii) Preparation of adhesives: i) dissolving in a suitable solvent, ii) melting
solid adhesive, iii) thinning of liquid adhesive, iv) addition of additives like
catalysts, fillers, extenders, plasticizers, hardeners, etc.,
iii) Application of adhesives: Uniform application of correct quantity of
adhesive over the prepared adherend surfaces is carried out as follows:
By brushing the adhesive over the adherend surfaces
By spraying, if adhesive is liquid
By roller coating
 By laying a film or sheet of dry adhesive
By laying pressure-sensitive tapes of adhesive
In case of chemically reactive system, one of its components (such as
thermosetting resins) is applied on one surface and other reagents such as
solvent and catalyst on the other surfaces.
In case of immediately reacting and hardening components of an adhesive,
the components such as resin and catalyst are applied to the adherend
surfaces by doubly spray of the two components directly to the adherend
surfaces and their mixing takes place at the very moment of the application.
iv) Assembling of adhesive-coated adherends: Different for different
adhesives
a) Molten thermosetting adhesives: On drying strength develops very
rapidly. The adherends are assembled immediately.
b) Thermoplastics or rubber solutions in organic solvents: Air-drying for long period is
needed to remove solvent from the adherend surfaces before joining together.
Air-drying is needed to i) develop sufficient tackiness, ii) to avoid blisters or
voids formation in the bond film.
c) Wood-working adhesives: i) adherend surfaces are held together in close
contact, ii) the joint/bond is allowed to remain in a closed-assembly for a certain
period.
This leads to i) loss of solvent via evaporation and ii) completion of chemical
reactions if thermosetting resin adhesives resulting increased
compactness/tackiness.
Leads to less/minimum queeze-out of adhesives under high pressure
applications.
d) Bonding of metals: Pre-curing is needed prior to the application of adhesive
because evaporation of solvent from adherent metal surfaces is very slow.
Hence the coated adherend surfaces are heated, so called pre-curing followed
by drying to reach consistency.
v) Application of pressure and temperature: To attain required consistency
application of pressure is inevitable for the assembly joint. Main reasons
are i) to make adherend surfaces in uniform contacts throughout, ii) to
avoid voids or air-bubbles remain in-between adherend surfaces i.e.,
coating film, iii) to spread adhesive uniformly on the adherend surfaces.
Pressure-sensitive (or fast-setting) adhesives: The bonding pressure is
released immediately after its application.
Slow-setting adhesives (like thermosetting resins): The bonding pressure is
maintained till complete chemical reactions to be completed and
subsequently development of full bond strength.
In case of a molten adhesive cooling under pressure is needed.
In case of a chemically reactive or drying adhesive heating under pressure
is compulsory.
vi) Conditioning after bonding:
a) Thermoplastic-based adhesives are joined by heating under pressure.
Such joints need cooling of the adhesive film below a certain temp. to
release pressure . Otherwise full bond strength will not be developed.
b) Thermosetting and non-resin adhesive joints are further conditioned by
keeping them for some time after the release of pressure to achieve full
bond strength.
Summary at a glance
i) Definition of adhesive, adherend surface, bonding and bond
ii) Advantages and limitations of adhesive, Adhesive action
iii) Classification of adhesives
a) Thermosetting synthetic resins: 1) Phenol-formaldehyde resin, 2)
Urea-formaldehyde resin, 3) Polyesters, 4) Epoxy resins, 5) Silicone
resins
 b) Thermoplastic synthetic resins: 1) Cellulose derivatives, 2) Acrylic
like plexiglass, 3) Polyvinyls
c) Natural resin adhesives: 1) Shellac resin, 2) Asphalt
d) Starch adhesives
e) Inorganic adhesives
f) Vegetable glues or protein glues: 1) Soybean glue, 2) Casein glue
g) Animal glues
iv) Development of adhesive strength
a) By loss of solvent
b) By cooling of hot molten mass
c) By applying pressure
d) By chemical reaction
v) Physical factors influencing adhesive action
a) Surface tension
 b) Porosity and smoothness of the contacting surfaces
c) Physical characteristics of adhesive film
d) Thickness of the adhesive film
e) Technique of application of adhesive
vi) Chemical factors influencing adhesive action
a) Polar characteristics of adhesive
b) Degree of polymerization
c) Side-chains in adhesive molecule
d) Effect of pH
vii) Bonding processes by adhesives
a) Preparation of adherends
b) Preparation of adhesive
c) Application of adhesive
d) Assembling of adhesive-coated adherends
e) Application of pressure and temperature
f) Conditioning after bonding