Thermally Stable, Transparent, Pressure Sensitive Adhesives from Plant Oils
As petroleum resources continue to decrease rapidly, there has been a recent surge in the development of sustainable products which utilize renewable feed stocks, including plant oils. Certain plant oils, including epoxidized soybean oils, are widely used in the plastic and resin industry as additives; however, they have the potential for use in other value added applications, such as pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs). Current PSAs have multiple drawbacks such as; low thermal stability, relatively high melting points, and a large coefficient of thermal expansion. Additionally, silicone based adhesives are currently too expensive to be practical.Considering the current standard needs for pressure sensitive adhesives and the ever growing interest in research and development for alternate PSA uses in advanced electronics and medical devices; researchers at Kansas State University set about developing a highly functional PSA from inexpensive renewable resources. These novel PSAs utilize cationic polymerization of epoxidized plant oils (EPO) to deliver a thermally stable PSA which has comparable peel strength relative to market leaders, is extremely transparent, and is significantly better for the environment then other options because of the focus on “green” production. Additionally, the resources used to make the adhesive are environmentally sustainable as well as inexpensive relative to other options such as silicon.Advantages:Above a 90% transparency within visible rangeVery low coefficient of thermal expansionComparable peel strength to industry leaders (Scotch Tape and Post-it)Can replace petroleum based PSA’s by using renewable inexpensive raw materials via green processingApplications:This novel PSA can be applied to standard products such as tapes and sticky notes, additionally their excellent stability and transparency could make them ideal candidates for electronic and medical device applications.Patent StatusU.S. patent #9,441,112 issued on September 13, 2016.Kansas State University Research Foundation seeks to have discussions with companies that are interested in licensing and/or research collaborations.Interested parties should contact:Kansas State University Institute for Commercialization (KSU-IC)2005 Research Park Circle Manhattan, KS 66502Tel: 785-532-3900 Fax: 785-532-3909E-Mail: ic@k-state.edu
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