Air-activated acrylic adhesives are one-part, rapid room-temperature settin
g adhesives which cure by redox-initiated polymerisation of(meth)acrylate m
onomers. Their cure is triggered by ambient atmosphere and results in cured
adhesive properties similar to conventional two-part acrylic adhesives. A
test method developed using dynamic mechanical thermal analysis to characte
rise their cure behaviour was subsequently used in the assessment of the ef
fects of ageing on the adhesives. The objective of this study is to investi
gate if the rate of cure of the adhesives retarded on storage at room tempe
rature over a period of one year. Tubes of adhesive were tested at selected
time intervals and the findings are reported and analysed using analysis o
f variance. It was found that over a 12 month period there was no ageing ef
fect on the cure characteristics of air-activated adhesives. (C) 2001 Elsev
ier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.