CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL FACTORS AFFECTING PERFORMANCE OF PRESSURE-SENSITIVE ADHESIVES

Abstract

Considerable attention has been given to the general area of adhesion and adhesives [1–3], but a need now exists to review more specific topics in these areas. The nature of pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSA's) and the factors contributing to their performance are reviewed here. A description for measuring performance of pressure-sensitive adhesives is followed by a treatment of physical and chemical factors that influence adhesive behavior. These include surface energetics, rheological behavior, molecular weight, and functional-group contributions.