| Abstract: | A series of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymers (EVA) were blended with some tackifier resins that were made from wood extracts, and possible relations between their miscibility and properties as hot‐melt adhesives (HMA) were investigated. From our previous report on miscibility of various EVA‐based HMAs, we chose some blends that represent some of the typical miscibility types and investigated their peel strengths. When the blends were miscible at testing temperatures, the temperature at which the maximum value of peel strength was recorded tended to move toward higher temperature as tackifier content of blends increased. This result corresponds to the storage modulus of the blends whose curves tended to move toward higher temperature as tackifier content of blends increased when blend components were miscible as well as their maximum values of tan δ, or glass transition temperatures. It was characteristic for peel strength that there existed second peaks on peel strengths curves at ～ 100°C, which adhesive tensile strengths for the blends did not have. In terms of relationship between miscibility and HMA performances, we suggest that there are several factors other than miscibility that affect absolute values of peel strength more directly than miscibility; this idea has to be investigated further in the a future study. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 726–735, 2002 |
