A study of ageing in acrylic adhesives

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.