Synthesis of novel pressure sensitive adhesives for label applications

Abstract

In the label adhesives industry, the accepted pressure sensitive adhesives (PSA) are acrylic based water dispersions. These acrylic polymer emulsions have excellent ultraviolet (UV) and chemical resistance. However, their adhesion values alone are not enough for market requirements. Due to this, producers compound these acrylic polymers with tackifier resin dispersions especially for paper labels. In this study, it is aimed to produce label adhesive using a new approach. The goal is to develop a new one-pot polymerization process for the filmic label market. In one pot system, the purpose is to synthesize ready dispersions for label adhesives by adding the tackifier resin during the polymerization to the acrylic monomer. By doing so, it is hoped to eliminate high cost dispersing machines and high level of surfactants used in the dispersion process of the tackifier resin. Elimination of the surfactant coming from the tackifier resin dispersion is a potential solution for the whitening problem of the filmic labels. Another advantage is to save energy from the high cost dispersing process.