Studies on the water resistance of acrylic emulsion pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs)

Abstract

Four different types of acrylic emulsion pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) with the same composition of their constituent co-polymers but stabilized by four different anionic surfactants, two conventional low-molecular-weight surfactants (a sodium salt and an ammonium salt) and two anionic monomers (a sodium salt and an ammonium salt) were prepared. The adhesion properties of the four types of PSA tapes coated onto PET (poly(ethylene terephthalate)) sheets were determined with the national standard methods of China. Water absorption and water solubility of PSA films were determined by the gravimetric method. The peel-strength retention of PSA tapes after immersion in water was compared. The results showed that both the adhesion properties and the water resistance of the acrylic PSAs stabilized by anionic monomers were better than that of the acrylic PSAs stabilized by low-molecular-weight surfactants, and the ammonium surfactants were better than the sodium surfactants. These differences were mainly caused by the different migration ability of the four surfactants in the PSA layers and their different hydrophilic nature, as explained in terms of surfactant content at the surfaces of PSA layers with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).