Sustainable terpene triblock copolymers with tuneable properties for pressure sensitive adhesive applications

Elsmore, M.T.; Atkinson, R.L.; Irvine, D.J.; Howdle, S.M.; De Focatiis, D.S.A.

Abstract

A series of triblock copolymers in a hard-soft-hard block configuration with varying hard block α-pinene methacrylate content and molecular weight and butyl acrylate soft segment have been synthesised and investigated for viability in pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) applications. The morphologies vary from pockets of hard phase distributed within a continuous soft matrix, through to lamellar with co-continuous phases, and finally continuous hard phase with pockets of soft phase dispersed. Uniaxial tensile properties, probe adhesion performance and cyclic adhesive behaviour are presented for seven compositions including four short chain and three long chain copolymers, alongside a commercial benchmark PSA. Structure-property relationships for the novel elastomers are evaluated, establishing that short chain materials with 20-25 wt% αPMA offer similar tensile and adhesion performance to the commercial elastomer. Raising the hard phase concentration has been observed to provide a considerable increase in ultimate tensile strength, stiffness and peak tack force, but at the expense of significant reductions in ultimate tensile strain, adhesive bond displacement and vibrational dissipation. The results suggest that the performance of these sustainable materials can be tuned to produce viable PSAs with a range of useful properties.

Citation

Elsmore, M., Atkinson, R., Irvine, D., Howdle, S., & De Focatiis, D. (2022). Sustainable terpene triblock copolymers with tuneable properties for pressure sensitive adhesive applications. Polymer Testing, 109, Article 107530. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2022.107530

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 2, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Mar 10, 2022
• Publication Date: 2022-05
• Deposit Date: Mar 3, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 11, 2023
• Journal: Polymer Testing
• Print ISSN: 0142-9418
• Electronic ISSN: 1873-2348
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 109
• Article Number: 107530
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2022.107530
• Keywords: Polymers and Plastics; Organic Chemistry
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/7534455
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142941822000563