Abstract
Self-adhesive materials are called, in the adhesives trade, “pressure-sensitive adhesives” (PSAs). PSAs are designed to stick on almost any surface by simple contact under light pressure. This special class of adhesives does not undergo any physical transformation or chemical reaction during the bonding process. Because of this, the rheological properties of the adhesive must be finely tuned for the application, combining a carefully chosen polymer architecture and monomer composition with the proper addition of small molecules called tackifying resins. PSAs are soft, deformable solids and, depending on the formulation, easily form bridging fibrils between two surfaces upon debonding. They are safe to use and easy to handle and thus are increasingly replacing more conventional types of adhesives. In this article, we review both the primary material characteristics of PSAs and the main physical principles that make them work effectively.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
D. Satas, in Handbook of Pressure Sensitive Adhesive Technology, 2nd ed., Vol. 1, edited by D. Van Satas (Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1989) p. 940.
I. Benedek, Pressure-Sensitive-Adhesive Formulation, 1st ed. (VSP, Utrecht, 2000).
C. Creton and P. Fabre, in Comprehensive Adhesion Science, Vol. 1, edited by D.A. Dillard and A.V. Pocius (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2002) p. 535.
C. Creton, in Processing of Polymers, 1st ed., Materials Science and Technology, Vol. 18, edited by H.E.H. Meijer (VCH, Weinheim, 1997) p. 707.
A. Zosel, Adv. Pressure Sensitive Adhes. Technol. I (1992) p. 92.
C. Gay and L. Leibler, Phys. Today (1999) p. 47.
N. Nakajima, R. Babrowicz, and E.R. Harrell, J. Polym. Sci., Polym. Phys. Ed. 44 (1992) p. 1437.
G. Kraus, K.W. Rollmann, and R.A. Gray, J. Adhes. 10 (1979) p. 221.
K. Brown, J.C. Hooker, and C. Creton, Macromol. Mater. Eng. 287 (2002) p. 163.
A. Roos and C. Creton, in Proc. 25th Annu. Meeting of the Adhesion Society (The Adhesion Society, Blacksburg, VA, 2002) p. 371.
C.A. Dahlquist, Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives, Vol. 2, edited by R.L. Patrick (Marcel Dekker, New York, 1969) p. 219.
A.N. Gent and J. Schultz, J. Adhes. 3 (1972) p. 281.
A. Zosel, J. Adhes. 30 (1989) p. 135.
A. Zosel, Colloid Polym. Sci. 263 (1985) p. 541.
H. Lakrout, P. Sergot, and C. Creton, J. Adhes. 69 (1999) p. 307.
I. Chikina and C. Gay, Phys. Rev. Lett. 85 (2000) p. 4546.
C. Creton and H. Lakrout, J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 38 (2000) p. 965.
A.J. Crosby, K.R. Shull, H. Lakrout, and C. Creton, J. Appl. Phys. 88 (2000) p. 2956.
A. Chiche, P. Pareige, and C. Creton, Compte Rend. Acad. Sci. (Paris) Sér. IV, 1 (2000) p. 1197.
C. Creton, J.C. Hooker, and K.R. Shull, Langmuir 17 (2001) p. 4948.
L. Benyahia, C. Verdier, and J.M. Piau, J. Adhes. 62 (1997) p. 45.
C. Verdier, J.M. Piau, and L. Benyahia, J. Adhes. 68 (1998) p. 93.
S.F. Christensen, H. Everland, O. Hassager, and K. Almdal, Int. J. Adhes. Adhes. 18 (1998) p. 131.
S.F. Christensen, PhD thesis, Technical University of Denmark, 1998.
A.J. Crosby and K.R. Shull, J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 37 (1999) p. 3455.
A. Jagota, C.Y. Hui, S.J. Bennison, and J.D. Londono, Proc. Royal Soc. London, Series A (2003) in press.
C. Creton and L. Leibler, J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 34 (1996) p. 545.
D. Maugis, J. Adhes. Sci. Technol. 10 (1996) p. 161.
J.D. Ferry, Viscoelastic Properties of Polymers, 3rd ed., Vol. 1 (John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1980).
M. Doi and S.F. Edwards, The Theory of Polymer Dynamics (Oxford University Press, New York, 1986).
M. Sherriff, R.W. Knibbs, and P.G. Langley, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 17 (1973) p. 3438.
D.W. Aubrey and M. Sherriff, J. Polym. Sci., Polym. Chem. Ed. 16 (1978) p. 2631.
A. Zosel, J. Adhes. 34 (1991) p. 201.
G. Kraus, F.B. Jones, O.L. Marrs, and K.W. Rollmann, J. Adhes. 8 (1977) p. 235.
G. Kraus and T. Hashimoto, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 27 (1982) p. 1745.
G. Kraus and K.W. Rollmann, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 21 (1977) p. 3311.
F.S. Bates and G.H. Frederickson, Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem. 41 (1990) p. 525.
A. Roos, PhD thesis, Université Paris VI, 2003.
A. Aymonier, E. Papon, J.-J. Villenave, P. Tordjeman, R. Pirri, and P. Gérard, Chem. Mater. 13 (2001) p. 2562.
J. Mallégol, O. Dupont, and J.L. Keddie, Langmuir 17 (2001) p. 7022.
N. Amouroux, J. Petit, and LéL. ger, Langmuir 17 (2001) p. 6510.
G. Josse, C. Creton, and M. Dorget, in Proc. Euradh 2000 (Société Française du Vide, Paris, 2000) p. 165.
B.-M. Zhang Newby, M.K. Chaudhury, and H.R. Brown, Science 269 (1995) p. 1407.
W. Karmann and S. Zöllner, Eur. Adhesives & Sealants ( 12) (1996) p. 3.
J. Mallégol, J.-P. Gorce, O. Dupont, C. Jeynes, P.J. McDonald, and J.L. Keddie, Langmuir 18 (2002) p. 4478.
A. Zosel and B. Schuler, J. Adhes. 70 (1999) p. 179.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Creton, C. Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives: An Introductory Course. MRS Bulletin 28, 434–439 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs2003.124
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs2003.124