Reactivity of novel ethyl cyanoacrylate and 6-hydroxyhexyl acrylate adhesive mixtures and their influence on adhesion and thermal stability

Abstract

Different amounts (5–10 wt%) of an acrylate compound - 6-hydroxyhexyl acrylate (HHA) - was added to ethyl cyanoacrylate (ECN) for decreasing its stiffness and improving its thermal stability without decreasing its adhesion properties. The addition of HHA increased the immediate adhesion and decreased noticeably the glass transition temperature of the ECN. No reaction between HHA and ECN was observed in the ECN + HHA mixtures stored at 8 °C during long periods of time, but after 192 days a copolymerization by transesterification reaction between ECN and HHA was observed. The copolymerization of ECN and HHA produced new structures with broader molecular weight distribution and different tacticity than the ones obtained in the polymerization of ECN only. Because of the differences in structure, noticeable changes in the adhesion, structural, and thermal properties of the ECN + HHA polymers were observed. Whereas the ECN polymer decomposed at 200 °C, the copolymers of ECN + HHA decomposed near 300 °C.