Ductile adhesive elastomers with force-triggered ultra-high adhesion strength

Elastomers play a vital role in many forthcoming advanced technologies in which their adhesive properties determine materials' interface performance. Despite great success in improving the adhesive properties of elastomers, permanent adhesives tend to stick to the surfaces prematurely or result in poor contact depending on the installation method. Thus, elastomers with on-demand adhesion that is not limited to being triggered by UV light or heat, which may not be practical for scenarios that do not allow an additional external source, provide a solution to various challenges in conventional adhesive elastomers. Herein, we report a novel, ready-to-use, ultra high-strength, ductile adhesive elastomer with an on-demand adhesion feature that can be easily triggered by a compression force. The precursor is mainly composed of a capsule-separated, two-component curing system. After a force-trigger and curing process, the ductile adhesive elastomer exhibits a peel strength and a lap shear strength of 1.2 x 104 N m-1 and 7.8 x 103 kPa, respectively, which exceed the reported values for advanced ductile adhesive elastomers. The ultra-high adhesion force is attributed to the excellent surface contact of the liquid-like precursor and to the high elastic modulus of the cured elastomer that is reinforced by a two-phase design. Incorporation of such on-demand adhesion into an elastomer enables a controlled delay between installation and curing so that these can take place under their individual ideal conditions, effectively reducing the energy cost, preventing failures, and improving installation processes. The on-demand adhesion enables a controlled delay between installation and curing so that these can take place under their individual ideal conditions, leading to the ultra-high adhesion force that exceeds the reported values for advanced ductile adhesive elastomers.

Automated summary

This study reports a novel elastomer with on-demand adhesion, which exhibits ultra-high strength and ductile adhesion properties triggered by compression force. The high adhesion force is attributed to the two-phase design and excellent surface contact of the liquid-like precursor. The incorporation of on-demand adhesion into elastomers allows a controlled delay between installation and curing, reducing energy costs and improving installation processes.