Adhesives and Tape Testing

When polymer materials are heated, irradiated with light, or mixed, some of the molecular structures can undergo changes that are a function of time. Infrared spectrophotometers (FTIR) provide an effective measurement method for tracking such changes, as they offer the ability to simultaneously track the changes of multiple absorption peaks. When the main components of an epoxy-based adhesive are mixed with its hardener, they react and start hardening as a function of time, according to the process shown in the figure below. The changes in functional groups were investigated by measuring the hardening process at fixed intervals.

As the chemical industry has developed, adhesives using synthetic polymers as raw materials have been commercialized. These adhesives are often used in a variety of industrial fields, including electronics and electrical machinery. This article introduces an example of a 180° peeling test for adhesives used in adhesive tapes.

Vinyl acetate-based adhesives were analyzed by evolved gas analysis (EGA). The resulting chromatograms are shown in Fig. 1 and the mass spectra for the main peaks are shown in Fig. 2. The primary component of peak 1 is methyl acetate, which is presumably the solvent. Peak 2 is acetate and peak 3 is difficult to identify because it is a mixture of many substances.

As the chemical industry has developed, adhesives using synthetic polymers as raw materials have been commercialized. These adhesives are often used in a variety of industrial fields, including electronics and electrical machinery. This article introduces an example of a 90° peeling test for adhesives used in adhesive tapes.