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Effects of core–shell and reactive liquid rubbers incorporation on practical adhesion and fracture energy of epoxy adhesives

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Abstract

Epoxies offer many advantages in structural applications compared with other adhesives. However, their highly cross-linked structure leads to brittle materials, with low toughness and poor impact resistance. Usually, core–shell and reactive liquid rubbers are incorporated into industrial epoxy adhesives to overcome these limitations. Although important studies have been published in this field, it still lacks in the literature a comprehensive comparison between the effects of incorporating each type of rubber into the same epoxy matrix. Additionally, these reports usually focus on the behavior of the adhesive bulk, neglecting the effect of tougheners inclusion on the adhesively bonded joints fracture energy. Aiming to fill this gap, in this work, we prepared epoxy adhesives reinforced with core–shell rubber particles (CSR) or with a reactive liquid rubber (carboxyl-terminated polybutadiene-co-acrylonitrile—CTBN), at constant rubber contents in both formulations. Then, the toughened adhesives were investigated with respect to their thermomechanical behavior, as well as their adhesion performance. Bulk properties were characterized by uniaxial tensile tests and dynamic mechanical analysis, while the practical adhesion was investigated with single-lap shear and peeling tests. Finally, we assessed the adhesively bonded joints fracture energy in a customized experiment. The results showed that CTBN incorporation improved the adhesively bonded joints fracture energy by almost 816%, while CSR increased it by 550%. However, CTBN decreased the Tg of epoxy adhesives from 160 up to 130 °C, while CSR incorporation revealed no significant influence on Tg. Practical adhesion was increased by incorporation of both tougheners. In short, CTBN-containing samples revealed to be more efficient, even in smaller concentrations.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by UFABC’s Material Science and Engineering and Nanoscience and Advanced Materials Programs and funded by the Sao Paulo Research Foundation–FAPESP (grant number 2019/05460-6) and by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico–CNPq. The authors also would like to thank the Multiuser Central Facilities (UFABC) for the experimental support.

Funding

This work was supported by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo [2019/05460-6] and by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico CNPq (grant number 140216/2020-0).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nanoscience and Advanced Materials Graduate Program (PPG-Nano), Federal University of ABC (UFABC), Santo André, São Paulo, 09210-580, Brazil

    Leonardo Dalseno Antonino, Guilherme Elias Saltarelli Garcia, Júlia Rocha Gouveia & Demetrio Jackson dos Santos

  2. Material Science and Engineering Graduate Program (PPG-CEM), Federal University of ABC (UFABC), Santo André, São Paulo, 09210-580, Brazil

    Camila de Oliveira Viani, Suel Eric Vidotti & Demetrio Jackson dos Santos

Authors
  1. Leonardo Dalseno Antonino
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  2. Guilherme Elias Saltarelli Garcia
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  3. Camila de Oliveira Viani
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  4. Júlia Rocha Gouveia
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  6. Demetrio Jackson dos Santos
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Correspondence to Demetrio Jackson dos Santos.

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Antonino, L.D., Garcia, G.E.S., de Oliveira Viani, C. et al. Effects of core–shell and reactive liquid rubbers incorporation on practical adhesion and fracture energy of epoxy adhesives. Iran Polym J 30, 1329–1338 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13726-021-00976-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13726-021-00976-z

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