Adhesion, or lack of it, is one of the most critical attributes for most coatings, inks and, of course, adhesives themselves. While the concept of adhesion may sound simple, the details can be more complex. A key factor for most types of adhesive bonding is substrate wetting, which refers to whether the coating flows over the substrate or whether it “beads up.” If the … [Read more...] about Adhesion and Energy-Curable Coatings
Adhesives
Enabling Energy-Curable Adhesion Through Polymer Design
By Namgoo Kang, Ph.D.; Ken Myers; Mark Adams; Andrew Sandt and William C. Miles, Ph.D., Penn Color, Inc. The adhesion of energy-curable coatings is a subject of great interest, particularly for substrates that are low energy (i.e. plastics) or in the joining of substrates with different surface energies.1 Advantages of energy-curable coatings are that they often are very … [Read more...] about Enabling Energy-Curable Adhesion Through Polymer Design
LED Measurement Solutions for Adhesive Applications
UV LEDs with peak spectral outputs between 365-405 nanometers (nm) are increasingly being used to cure adhesives, but converting a process from mercury to LED may involve more than “turning on” an LED and “turning off” a mercury source. It is important to work with your supplier/formulator to test, evaluate and – if needed – make changes to the formulation. Three parameters A … [Read more...] about LED Measurement Solutions for Adhesive Applications
Recent Progress in UV-/EB-Curable Pressure Sensitive Adhesives
By Chris Orilall, Zack Weinert, Jon Scholte, Chuck Dong, and Jeff Klang, Arkema Inc., Sartomer Business Unit Abstract Energy-curable pressure sensitive adhesives (EC-PSAs) eliminate the need for drying, solvent extraction or preheating steps (compared to traditional waterborne, solventborne and hot melt methods). These processing benefits make such adhesives particularly … [Read more...] about Recent Progress in UV-/EB-Curable Pressure Sensitive Adhesives
UV LED Low-Migration Laminating Adhesives for Flexible Packaging
By Jake Staples, Technical Team Leader, Ashland The global flexible packaging market continues to evolve as shifts in consumer preference lean more toward convenience in single-serve or grab-n-go options, extended shelf life and sustainability. In addition to consumers driving innovation in flexible packaging, wide web and narrow web converters are beginning to converge into … [Read more...] about UV LED Low-Migration Laminating Adhesives for Flexible Packaging