Effects of Alkyl Ester Chain Length on the Toughness of PolyAcrylate-Based Network Materials

Polyacrylate-based network materials are widely used in various products owing to their facile synthesis via radical polymerization reactions. In this study, the effects of alkyl ester chains on the toughness of polyacrylate-based network materials were investigated. Polymer networks were fabricated via the radical polymerization of methyl acrylate (MA), ethyl acrylate (EA), and butyl acrylate (BA) in the presence of 1,4-butanediol diacrylate as a crosslinker. Differential scanning calorimetry and rheological measurements revealed that the toughness of MA-based networks drastically increased compared with that of EA- and BA-based networks; the fracture energy of the MA-based network was approximately 10 and 100 times greater than that of EA and BA, respectively. The high fracture energy was attributed to the glass transition temperature of the MA-based network (close to room temperature), resulting in large energy dissipation via viscosity. Our results set a new basis for expanding the applications of polyacrylate-based networks as functional materials.

Design of a High-Performance Dismantlable Adhesion System Using Pressure-Sensitive Adhesive Copolymers of 2-Hydroxyethyl Acrylate Protected with tert-Butoxycarbonyl Group in the Presence of Cross-Linker and Lewis Acid

A dismantlable adhesion system satisfies both a strong bonding strength during use and a quick debonding process on demand in response to an external stimulus as a trigger for dismantling. In this study, we synthesized acrylate copolymers consisting of 2-(tert-butoxycarbonyloxy)ethyl acrylate (BHEA), 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (2EHA), and 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA) as the repeating units and evaluated the properties as dismantlable adhesives. First, the thermal degradation behavior of the obtained polymers was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis and IR spectroscopy. The BHEA-containing polymers were thermally stable during heating at a temperature below 150 °C, but they rapidly degraded, i.e., the deprotection of the tert-butoxycarbonyl groups occurred during heating at 200 °C. The onset temperatures for the deprotection depended on the BHEA and HEA contents and their sequence structures because the hydroxy group in the side chain accelerated the deprotection via an autocatalytic reaction mechanism. Shear holding power and 180° peel tests were carried out with the pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes using the BHEA-containing copolymers as the adhesive materials. The copolymers consisting of the BHEA, 2EHA, and HEA units with 25.7, 35.0, and 39.3 mol %, respectively, exhibited the highest adhesion strength and the subsequent quick reduction of the adhesion strength by heating during the dismantling process. The addition of hexamethylene diisocyanate as the cross-linker and Zn(acac)2 as the Lewis acid to the adhesive polymers was demonstrated to be valid for the design of high-performance dismantlable adhesion systems. A change in the rheological properties during the dismantling process was important for a quick response and selective interfacial failure between the substrate and the adhesive.

Liquid marble containing degradable polyperoxides for adhesion force-changeable pressure-sensitive adhesives

Non-stick liquid marbles containing a sticky polyperoxide ​provide a strong stick and dismantlability depending on external stimuli.

Rapid, On-Command Debonding of Stimuli-Responsive Cross-Linked Adhesives by Continuous, Sequential Quinone Methide Elimination Reactions

Adhesives that selectively debond from a surface by stimuli-induced head-to-tail continuous depolymerization of poly(benzyl ether) macro-cross-linkers within a poly(norbornene) matrix are described. Continuous head-to-tail depolymerization provides faster rates of response than can be achieved using a small-molecule cross-linker, as well as responses to lower stimulus concentrations. Shear-stress values for glass held together by the adhesive reach 0.51±0.10 MPa, whereas signal-induced depolymerization via quinone methide intermediates reduces the shear stress values to 0.05±0.02 MPa. Changing the length of the macro-cross-linkers alters the time required for debonding, and thus enables the programmed sequential release of specific layers in a glass composite material.