Effects of Polystyrene Block Content on Morphology and Adhesion Property of Polystyrene Block Copolymer

Effects of polystyrene block content on adhesion property and phase structure of polystyrene block copolymers were investigated. Polystyrene-block-polyisoprene-block-polystyrene triblock and polystyrene-block-polyisoprene diblock copolymers with different polystyrene block contents in the range from 13 to 35 wt% were used. In the case of the low polystyrene block content (below 16 wt%), a sea-island structure was observed: near-spherical polystyrene domains having a mean diameter of about 20 nm were dispersed in polyisoprene matrix. The phase structure changed from a sea-island structure to a cylindrical structure with an increase of polystyrene block content (over 18 wt%). Peel strength decreased with an increase of polystyrene block content and the pure triblock copolymers had lower peel strength than their blends with the diblock copolymers. Pulse nuclear magnetic resonance studies indicated that molecular mobility of polyisoprene phase decreased with an increase of polystyrene block content, and the molecular mobility was lower in the pure triblock than in the blend. Thus, the peel strength was found to be related to molecular mobility. The adhesion strength of the block copolymer depended on the molecular mobility: high molecular mobility can promote interfacial adhesion.     

New Developments in the Area of Solvent-Borne Acrylic Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives

Since their introduction half a century ago, acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives have been successfully applied in many fields. In the last fifty years or so, acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) have made tremendous strides from what was virtually a black art to what is now a sophisticated science. So much so that larger manufacturers of pressure-sensitive adhesives and even their polymer suppliers now use very expensive equipment to study pressure-sensitive adhesive behavior. The three properties which are useful in characterizing the nature of pressure-sensitive adhesives are tack, peel (adhesion) and shear (cohesion). The first measures the adhesive's ability to adhere quickly, the second its ability to resist removal by peeling, and the third its ability to hold in position when shear forces are exerted. The performances of pressure-sensitive adhesives, such as tack, peel and shear, based on polyacrylates synthesized through co-polymerization of acrylate monomers and formulated in organic solvents mixtures are, to a large degree, determined by the molecular weight of acrylic copolymer, polymerization method and especially by the type and quantity of the crosslinking agent added to the PSA. Newly developed solvent-borne PSAs are used in protective foils, removable and repositionable self-adhesive products, water-soluble PSAs and water-dispersible self-adhesive products, photoreactive UV-crosslinkable self-adhesive tapes, and dual-crosslinkable PSAs for self-adhesive tapes with post-crosslinking potential characterized by enhanced cohesion at higher temperatures. The mentioned water-soluble PSAs, water-dispersible self-adhesive products and photoreactive UV-crosslinkable self-adhesives are synthesized in organic solvents as solvent-borne acrylic PSAs.     

Relation between phase structure and peel adhesion of poly(styrene-isoprene-styrene) triblock copolymer/tackifier blend system

The effect of tackifier on the adhesive properties of a model pressure-sensitive adhesive tape was investigated. For this purpose, a model system consisting of poly(styrene-isoprene-styrene) triblock copolymer as the base polymer and a typical aliphatic petroleum resin as the tackifier was prepared. The tackifier content ranged from 10 to 60 wt%. The tackifier used has a good compatibility with polyisoprene, whereas it has a poor compatibility with polystyrene. The 180° peel adhesion was measured. The peel adhesion increased with the tackifier content, while the degree of increase became more significant above 40 wt%. The pressure sensitivity appeared obviously and the maximum peel adhesion was obtained without heating above 40 wt%. The phase structure was determined using pulse ¹H-NMR, transmission electron microscopy and dynamic mechanical analysis. A phase structure in which spherical polystyrene domains with a mean size of about 20 nm were dispersed in the polyisoprene continuous phase was observed. It was found that the tackifier-rich phase of the order of nanometers in size was formed in the polyisoprene matrix and the concentration increased with the tackifier content. The tackifier-rich phase seemed to develop the cohesive strength and, thus, it increased the peel adhesion.     

Modification of epoxy resin by polysulfone to improve the interfacial and mechanical properties in glass fibre composites. III. Properties of the cured blends and their structures in the polymer/fibre interphase

Thermal and mechanical properties (linear expansion coefficient, glass transition temperatures, Young's modulus, tensile and bending strengths, and failure energies under quasistatic and impact loadings) of cured epoxy-polysulfone (PSF) blends, as well as their structures have been studied. It was shown that PSF incorporation did not lead to appreciable changes in the linear thermal expansion coefficients and glass transition temperatures of the cured blends. According to this observation, incorporation of PSF into the epoxy matrix should not result in a significant increase in the internal stresses in the system. No drop in the modulus and strength of the bulk blends was observed when compared with unmodified epoxy matrix. The failure energy of the epoxy-PSF matrices increased as the PSF content increased under all loading conditions, whereas the strength of the polymer blend matrices increased only under impact loading. Optimal PSF content was found to be 10 wt%. It was shown that all the blends investigated were homogeneous before curing and became heterogeneous after curing. For epoxy-PSF/fibre joints a mixed (interfacial-cohesive) failure mode was observed for all the samples investigated. The results from the rheology, wetting, thermal, mechanical and structural tests, described in a set of papers, are compared with each other to explain the reasons for the adhesion strength behaviour of epoxy-PSF/glass fibre joints. Based on the finding here, an epoxy-10% PSF matrix is recommended for composite production.     

Modification of epoxy resin by polysulfone to improve the interfacial and mechanical properties in glass fibre composites. II. Adhesion of the epoxy-polysulfone matrices to glass fibres

Adhesion of epoxy-polysulfone (PSF) matrices to glass fibres of 12–30 μm in diameter was studied under both quasi-static and cyclic loadings. A pull-out technique was used for adhesion measurement. It was shown that incorporation of PSF into epoxy resin changed its adhesion to fibres. A maximum was observed in the adhesion strength vs. PSF content dependence at 10 wt% thermoplastic concentration. The results obtained were compared with the data on the epoxy-PSF matrices adhesion to thick steel wire (d = 150 μm) and Nylon-6 fibres (d = 250 μm). Similar values of the adhesion strength increase (22–25%) confirmed that all the changes at the interface were connected primarily with the matrix. A new preferably non-destructive cyclic loading technique was used to test the systems under cyclic loading at varying force amplitudes, frequencies and displacement amplitudes. In this technique the interphase behaviour is characterised by two variables: by the phase angle between the deformation applied to the matrix and the force transferred by the matrix to the fibre, and also by the amplitude of this force. Minimal force amplitudes were observed for the joints with 10 wt% polysulfone. Moreover, phase-angle values for epoxy-10% polysulfone joints were minimal among all the systems investigated. Increase in the number of loading cycles caused much more damage to unmodified epoxy matrix than that to epoxy-polysulfone matrices. Thus, modification of epoxy resin by polysulfone enhanced its adhesion to fibres under both quasistatic and cyclic loadings, especially for epoxy-10% polysulfone matrix. The possible mechanism of the phenomenon observed is discussed.