Effect of Magnesium Oxide and the Testing Rate on the Viscosity and Adhesion Properties of Epoxidized Natural Rubber/Acrylonitrile–Butadiene Rubber Blend Based Adhesives

Abstract

The effect of magnesium oxide loading on the adhesion properties of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR 50)/acrylonitrile–butadiene rubber (NBR)-based pressure-sensitive adhesives was systematically investigated using 40 parts per hundred parts of rubber (phr) of coumarone–indene resin as the tackifier. The concentration range of magnesium oxide was from 10–50 phr. Toluene and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films were selected as the solvent and the substrate, respectively, throughout the experiment. A Sheen hand coater was used to coat the adhesive onto the PET substrate at various coating thicknesses. The viscosity of the adhesive was measured using a Brookfield viscometer, whereas the loop tack, peel strength, and shear strength were determined using an adhesion tester operating at 10–60 cm/min. The results indicate that the viscosity increases with magnesium oxide loading, an observation which is attributed to the concentration effect of the filler. However, loop tack, peel strength, and shear strength increase with magnesium oxide loading up to 30 phr before decreasing upon further addition of the filler. This observation is ascribed to the effect of a varying degree of wettability of the adhesive, which culminates at 30 phr of magnesium oxide loading. At a fixed loading of magnesium oxide, all the adhesion properties of adhesives increase upon increasing the coating thickness and rate of testing.