A simulation study on acrylic pressure sensitive adhesives: Effects of poly(n-alkyl acrylates) side chain on structural and mechanical properties
발표자
이재현 (서강대학교 화학과)
연구책임자
성봉준 (서강대학교)
초록
내용
Pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) are materials that adhere when subjected to slight pressure. Among them, acrylic PSAs, composed of soft monomers, which possess a low glass transition temperature (Tg) and transparency, hard monomers, which improve the cohesive strength and functional monomers, which reinforce adhesion, are widely employed in the display industry. For n-alkyl acrylates (hydrocarbon-based soft monomers), whose microstructure changes with the number of alkyl carbons (Na ) and determines their viscoelastic behavior, but a molecular-level understanding is lacking. In this study, we investigate the effects of Na on the polymers through molecular dynamics simulations, using random copolymer systems constructed from 90% n-alkyl acrylate monomers (Na = 4, 8, 12) and 10% acrylic acid. We find that increasing Na induces a plasticizing effect, which weakens interchain interactions, enhances chain mobility, and lowers Tg, directly leading to an increase in secondary creep rate under identical loading conditions.