UV Curing of a Pressure Sensitive Adhesive

Coating Studied by Real-Time FTIRSpectroscopy

And Laboratory Scale Curing Experiments
Armin Tauber, Tom Scherzer, Ingeborg Well3, and Reiner Mehnert--
Institut for O b e r f l O c h e n m o d i f i z i e r u n g (IOM)*

INTRODUCTION
he market for pressure sensitive adhesives is domi-
Real-timeFTIR spectroscopy was used to study
T nated by w a t e r - a n d solvent-based systems. ~They
contain, for example, high molecular weight acrylic
or rubber loased polymers. Coating is done at room tern
the LIVqight induced crosstinking of a pressure
sensitive adhesive bossed on a saturated ac~llic
perature or slightly elevated temperatures. After the evapo-
ration of water or solvent, an adhesive film is formed on polymer bearing a pluAoreactivefhnctionat group
the substrate. The application of photopolymerizable pres
sure sensitive adhesives offers advantages with respect to
in the side chain. To simulate production
processing time, space, and energy requirements, as well parameters, e.g., cure speed m ~dnumber of required
as reduction of solvent emission. 2,3 Hence, UV curable UV h~mps, single or multiple UVqight flash
adhesive prepolymers were developed which could be
polymerized either by free radical or cationic reactions. 4~ experimeJr were performed which l~ve shozc,~
Another important class of conventional pressure sen that the amount qf crosstinked potyn~er chains in
sitive adhesives is based on styrene/butadiene (SBS) or the adhesive depends o~ the applied UV dose. The
styrene/isoprene (SIS) copolymersJ These solvent free
systems are applied as hot melts to a substrate with coat sa,~e result was observed by vaqfing the intensity
ing temperatures of 160~ and higher. High coating qf the UV-tight. The properties qf the pressure
weights at high production rates are possible in compari-
son to waterborne or solventborne systems. However, these sensitive adhesive, e.g., peel and shear strength,
hot melt adhesives still have some disadvantages, a low were determined by UV curing using a laboratory
aging resistance and limited adhesive properties at el-
evated temperatures, e.g., poor shear resistance above irradiate1 unit. These results were compared zAth
100~ The latter might be overcome using UV curable SIS those qflthe RTIR spectroscopy experin~n is.
or SBS adhesives. 6 UV-curable acrylic hot-melt adhesives
are promising alternatives since acrylic polymers possess
excellent resistance towards aging. ~;~s These adhesives
consist of high molecular weight polymer chains. After
coating onto a substrate, the acrylic polymer chains have
to be crosslinked to achieve the final adhesive properties. ~6 ,6 1,6
.1 t~ II I~ !m
This is done by copolymerization of photoreactive func
tional groups ~,7~(Scheme 1). 1
The pressure sensitive adhesive investigated in this
s t u d y is an already commercialized UV-curable acrylic
hot-melt adhesive.~s UV-light induced crosslinking of the
acrylic polymer chains occurs via a copolymerized ben
zophenone derivative. The mechanism of the crosslinking
reaction is shown in Scheme 1. -~OH-CH~H-CH~H--CH~-
6-O ' ~&O
Excitation of the carbonyl group of the benzophenone i6 1
derivative with UV light eventually leads to the lowest
Scheme l--Photochemlcal crossfinking of sa#Jrated
acrylic polymer chains (P~ and P:) bearing a copoty-
~Perm,:,ser~r. 1 r, B~1147,1:-:Leir,zl,J ,Yermanv Tel: +49 ~,41 2~, ~D749. fax: +49 .~,41 2.~, merized benzophenone derivative in the side chain.
2584. en ~ail: tauL,er@rz.uni-leipzi~.l.de.

Vol. 74, No. 927, April 2002 41

A. Tauber et al.
[ .... u'~i,,b,,~;i .....
I 1 ,
I
1 formed under conditions that closely mimic production
_~ Figure 1--Experimental set-up of the real-time
FTIRspectroscopy.
triplet state, which is best described as a biradical [reac-
tion (1)]. It is capable of abstracting a hydrogen atom from
the polymer chain. A ketyl and a carbon centered radical
are formed [reaction (2)]. 9 Recombination of these species
leads to crosslinked polymer chains in the adhesive [reac
tion (3)]. As a consequence, the properties of the adhesive
change, e.g., the peel and shear strength increase (see
Figures 6 and 12).
During the UV curing process of the acrylic hot melt
adhesive, the benzophenone derivative is converted [reac-
tions (1) and (2) in Scheme 1]; hence, the degree of the
conversion of this functional group is a measure of the
I o~ 0.8
I ooo
\ ..... ........ i!:.
_.c
1700 1650 1600
Wavenumber / cm ~
Figure 2--UV curing of an acrylic hot-melt adhe-
sive with a copolymerized benzophenone deft-
va five studied b y RTIRsp ec troscop y. A bsorp tion
bands at 1660cm ~(C=O) a n d 1600 cm ~(C=C
42
o f GsI-LObefore ~ ) and after 60 sec con tin uous
irradiation (..). Inset. relative benzophenone
concentration as a function of time.
Journal of Coatings Technology
degree of cure. Therefore, stationary or time-resolved in-
.p~,~::..~.,,~. ~.~,,~,~. frared spectroscopy canbe used to determine the conver-
sion after a certain time or as a function of time. The latter,
real time FTIR (RTIR) spectroscopy is one of the most
powerful analytical methods for monitoring UV-initiated
curing processes. These usually proceed within a fraction
of a second, e.g., the triplet state of the benzophenone
[reaction (1)] and the ketyl radical [reaction (2)] in the
adhesive investigated are formed within 10 x 10-s sec-
onds. As a time resolved method, RTIR spectroscopy o~
fers the unique possibility of a rapid and quantitative
measurement of the conversion of a specific photoreactive
functional group.lCq2 Moreover, experiments could be per-
lines, e.g., by varying the intensity or using single or mul-
tiple UV-light flashes to simulate a certain web speed or
number of required UV irradiation units. This has been
k recently s h o w n J 3 UV curing of aqueous polyurethane
acrylate dispersions was studied by RTIR spectroscopy
and the spectroscopic results were compared with that of
pilot scale curing experiments.
It is the intention of this study to show that RTIR spec-
troscopy can be applied to investigate the UV-curing be-
havior of an acrylic UV curable hot melt adhesive. Since
the real properties of the adhesive, e.g., peel and shear
strength, cannot be determined by spectroscopy, addi-
tional investigations using a laboratory plant for UV cur
ing were carried out. RTIR spectroscopy experiments were
performed with a model adhesive containing an increased
amount of the benzophenone derivative, while laboratory
scale UV curing was done with the commercialized adhe
sive. It will be s h o w n that RTIR spectroscopy allows one
to determine the conversion of the chromophore under
irradiation procedures which are comparable to commer-
cial curing conditions.
i i ili,t ........ i.,, ,i,,!i, il,i ..... i
!Z. ........
E
(3 [
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
(/)
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
o
C3
1550
10 "'"P" ?"i': i'[ ................. ; ........ ~ ..... ~"" ;'"?*'L"Y'.* .............
10 100
Web Speed / rn min -1
Figure 3--UVdose applied to a substrate after
one pass through the UV lamp at full in tensity( e,
120 W cm 7) and 50%
speed.
o
(A) as a function of the web
I
 UV Curing of a Pressure Sensitive Adhesive Coating

........ direction of the web ,, 1.0 h

1000 ".,,~

g 0.8
t..)
oE 750 9,e 9 c

E
9 9 3
o
r
0.6
m 500 .0 O
r
9 ;e
. 911

.ee 0.4
8 250 0e 0%
E3 e"
continuous irradiation
m 0.2
9~ , I D , I , t q n im,,lll, i
._
-10 -5 0 5 10
O 9 I . I . i 9 L

Irradiation Zone / cm 0 10 20 30 40
|
t Figure 4--1rradiance profile of the UV lamp l Time / s
used in this study (100% intensity. 6 m min-7).
I Figure 5--RTIRspec troscop y: UV curing by con-

EXPERIMENTAL
t .................................. F
tinuous and pulsed irradiation (6 sec duration).

cm 1, IST Metz). D o s i m e t r y w a s done with a D a t a l o g U V

Real-Time FTIRSpectroscopy dosimeter (Gems). With the help of this dosimeter the total
RTIR spectroscopy was used to study the kinetics of the energy as well as the peak p o w e r of a UV-irradiation unit
UV curing reactions. Spectra were recorded in attenuated can be measured. In Figure 3 the UV dose applied to a
total reflection (ATR) using a Biorad FTS 6000 spectrom- sample after one pass t h r o u g h the irradiation unit as a
eter and a Golden Gate single reflection d i a m o n d ATR function of the web speed is shown. Moreover, the irradi-
device (Graseby Specac) heatable up to 200~ The spec ance profile, i.e., the distribution of light w h e n a sample
trometer equipped with an MCT detector reaches a maxi passes through the UV lamp, can be d e t e r m i n e d with the
m u m temporal resolution of 11 ms at a spectral resolution Datalog dosimeter (Fig~re4). The observed profile results
of 16 cm -1. However, in this study, i t w a s set to 70 ms at 16 from the reflector of the irradiation unit. 15
CIll 1.
UV irradiation was p e r f o r m e d with an Osram HB 9
103 W mercury-arc lamp with a water filter for blocking
200 failure of the carrier
infrared irradiation. The m a x i m u m UV intensity on the
surface of the d i a m o n d was up to 1300 m W cm -2. An o-..-a ....... . ......................
electronic shutter (Vincent Associates) controlled by the
spectrometer computer enables synchronization between
UV irradiation and spectra recording. Additionally, it O 150
O
/ zxOA ...................
allows variable irradiation regimes such as continuous, r
multiple, or flash like irradiation procedures. The experi ~ ,, ,
r
mental set-up is s h o w n in Figure 1 (for a more detailed " , Z~
-~ 12~1~ l
description see reference 12). ,,i,d

The adhesives were coated on the d i a m o n d surface

03
100 i, _
using a small drawing bar. During irradiation, the con
c-
version of the copolymerized b e n z o p h e n o n e derivative
(Scheme 1) was obtained b y observing its characteristic 03
"~
o.. 1000 2000
absorption bands: 1660 cm 1 ( C - O stretching) and 1600
cm 1 (quadrant stretching of the aromatic double bonds,
~1~ J Dose / mJ cm2
see Fig~tre 2). 14 Integration of the peak area leads to a 50 . . . . . . . . . .
kinetic conversion profile, e.g., the decrease of the relative 1000 2000 3000
concentration of the b e n z o p h e n o n e derivative as a func -2
tion of irradiation time (inset in Figure 2). Dose / mJ cm

Figure 6--Laboratory-scale UV curing. shear

I
Laboratory Scale UV Curing
and peel strength as a function of the UV dose
Laboratory scale UV-curing experiments were carried at 100%( e ) and 50% (J) intensity of the lamp
out using a m e d i u m - p r e s s u r e m e r c u r y arc lamp (120 W (coating weight: 65 g m-:].

Vol. 74, No. 927, April 2002 43

A. Tauberel al.

1~ pulse

i 0.8 1.5
\~'-X<,~ Ise
0 0.6 r
,J0
g 1.0 x.X 250 27~na?O 325

o
N
c-
o.4
t
/
3 ra pulse
<
o

O,5
L
- I~ ' ~ - I ' ~ ~i ,]1" ] , 17 4. ZZ LT .,, i I ,, i ,i
or- 0 5 10 15 250 300 350 400
Time / s Wavelength / nm
I
Figure 7IRTIR spectroscopy, UV curing by I

t
Figure 9--UV spectrum of the UV-curable
multiple light pulses (duration :2 sec and in terval,
2 sec).
I pressure sensitive adhesive (coating weigh t,
45 g m-Z). Inset. spectral output (245-330 nm)
of a medium-pressure mercury UV lamp as
used in this study.
The adhesive w a s coated at t e m p e r a t u r e s up to 160~
on a substrate. After single or multiple passes t h r o u g h the
U V l a m p the adhesive properties were d e t e r m i n e d ac
cording to the following procedures. Peel strength: 90 ~ RESULTSAND DISCUSSION
peel test on stainless steel at a test s p e e d of 100 m m rain-l;
tests w e r e carried out at r o o m t e m p e r a t u r e within one In Figure 5, the b e n z o p h e n o n e conversion u p o n continu
hour after contact of the adhesive to the steel. Shear strength ous irradiation followed b y RTIR spectroscopy is shown.
(stainless steel, 1.25 cm x 1.25 cm contact area, and 206.9 g A t the beginning, a fast reaction can be observed, then it
load): starting at 50~ the t e m p e r a t u r e w a s raised b y 5~ starts to slow d o w n , and after 30 sec irradiation no fur
e v e r y 10 minutes until the adhesive failed. ther conversion of the photoreactive g r o u p can be ob
served.
In a commercial U V curing process, the adhesive is
exposed to UV light for v e r y short periods only. D e p e n d
ing on the s p e e d of the web, the d u r a t i o n can be in the
~ 1.0 range of milliseconds to seconds; e.g., r e g a r d i n g Figure 4,
I~ I ~ 5o b at 6 m rain 1 a m a x i m u m exposure time of two seconds
can be calculated f r o m the irradiance profile of the U V
I~" 57~176
~2SL~
0
l a m p used in this study. Such commercial curing condi-
O tions can be simulated with the help of RTIR spectroscopy
g \ XN/~ 2s so rs since flash like irradiation p r o c e d u r e s can be easily car
ried out with the electronic shutter (see Figure i and refer-
ences 12 a n d 13). The d u r a t i o n of the short UV pulse can
Q. be related to a certain s p e e d of the web. The result of a
No 0.4 single pulse investigation simulating one U V l a m p is
e-
00 % s h o w n in Figure 5. It can be seen that the conversion of the
rn 0.2 b e n z o p h e n o n e in the adhesive stops i m m e d i a t e l y w h e n
._>
(I)
the light is switched off. This is in contrast to the b e h a v i o r
in other p h o t o p o l y m e r i z a t i o n reactions, such as the free
rr
radical induced p o l y m e r i z a t i o n of acrylates. In this case,
0 10 20 30 40 up to 80% of the functional g r o u p s are converted after the
Time t s end of the U V light flash. 1~,1s Hence, the a m o u n t of
crosslinked p o l y m e r chains in the adhesive (Scheme 1)
FigureS--RTIRspectroscopy.'pulsedirradiation and consequently its properties should d e p e n d on the U V
at different UV in tensities but constant UV dose ; dose which is applied d u r i n g the U V flash. Postcuring
100%(6 sec pulse), 57% (10.5 sec p ulse) and24% does not take place.
(25 sec pulse). Inset, benzophenone conver- In Figure 6 the results of l a b o r a t o r y UV-curing experi-
sion at the end of the pulse, m e n t s are shown. Shear a n d peel strength of the adhe

44 Journalof Coatings Technology

 UV Curing of a Pressure Sensitive Adhesive Coating

sives were determined as a function of the UV dose. At low

doses a strong increase of the peel strength can be ob-
served. Cohesive failure of the adhesive layer occurs, since a /
at the beginning of the UV curing process the polymer
chains are only partially crosslinked. Further conversion
o_:s ../"
1.0
of the b e n z o p h e n o n e , i.e., more crosslinking, leads to ad
hesive failure, since cohesion inside the adhesive is now
strong enough. The same holds for the shear strength, an "~ 0.8
ascent canbe observed by increasing the UV dose. At high O
doses the shear strength is almost constant since all of the E
b e n z o p h e n o n e is converted (Figure5). -; o.6
.__.
From Figure 6 it can be seen that u n d e r the conditions
chosen, i.e., a coating weight of 65 g m -2, a UV dose of 0.4
about 1000 mJ cm ~ is required to obtain m a x i m u m shear rr
strength in combination w i t h adhesive failure. This UV 0.2
dose is applied to the adhesive after one pass through the
UV lamp used in this s t u d y at a web speed of 6 m rain 1
(see Figure 3). In practice, higher p r o d u c t i o n rates are
. . . .

required. Longer irradiation times at a given speed have to 0.01 0.1 1

be realized by the addition of successive UV lamps. Such a Absorption
technical multiple irradiation procedure can be simulated
b y real-time FTIR spectroscopy, lx,13 The result of such a

simulation is s h o w n in Figure 7. A stepwise conversion of
the b e n z o p h e n o n e after each UV pulse can be seen. This
clearly demonstrates that the reaction is reinitiated w h e n
the next UV flash strikes the sample.
Comparing Figures 5 and 7, the same a m o u n t of ben
zophenone (~ 60%) is converted if one pulse of six seconds
duration or three pulses of two seconds with an interval of
two seconds are applied to the adhesive. Therefore, the
properties of the adhesive, e.g., shear and peel strength,
should d e p e n d only on the applied UV dose and not on
the irradiation regime. Hence, in practice, the speed of the
web can be increased by increasing the n u m b e r of irradia
tion units. Results of such laboratory scale experiments
are s h o w n in Table 1. It can be seen that at a speed of 24 m
min -1 the UV dose of 225 mJ cm -2 applied to the adhesive
after one pass through the lamp is not sufficient to obtain
a high shear strength (see Figure 5). After four passes the
dose is almost the same as one pass at 6 m min -1, conse-
quently comparable adhesive properties were obtained
(Table 1).
The influence of the intensity on the b e n z o p h e n o n e
conversion is shown inFigure 8. The conversion rate slows
d o w n w h e n the intensity of the UV lamp is decreased. On
the other hand, the conversion is still the same with re-
spect to the applied UV dose (- pulse length x intensity,
see inset in Figure 8). Hence, at a given dose, the adhesive
properties are i n d e p e n d e n t of the dose rate (see Figure 6).
A high p r o d u c t i o n rate with a m i n i m u m of irradiation
units could be achieved by using UV lamps with a high
intensity. However, one has to bear in mind that the adhe
l
Figure lO--Photon absorption according to
Beer-Lambert law. inset, absorption of the ad-
hesive at 254 n m ( e ) and 300 nm (J) as a
function of the coating weight.
w h i c h match the a b s o r p t i o n spectrum of the b e n z o p h e
none derivative.
D e p e n d i n g on the application of a pressure sensitive
adhesive, d i f f e r e n t coating w e i g h t s are r e q u i r e d , e.g.,
20 g m ~ for labels and 80 g m ~ or more for tapes. The
a b s o r p t i o n of the a d h e s i v e s t u d i e d as f u n c t i o n of the
coating weight (see inset in Figure 10) has some conse-
quence with respect to the practical application. Reac
tions induced by UV light, e.g., the formation of the excited
triplet state of the b e n z o p h e n o n e derivative [reaction (1)
in Scheme 1], are triggered in general by the absorption of a
E
g 1.0
g o.8 6 X CW ~
8
0.6
8
g
~ 0.4

sive properties d e p e n d on the UV dose. Therefore, the UV g

dose should be controlled 16to ensure that the current dose m 0.2
is sufficient to achieve the desired adhesive properties. o
, m

This is important, since bulb aging decreases the intensity

of the irradiation unit. I . . . . . I .... I I, , ,| ,,,

In Figure 0, the UV s p e c t r u m of the i n v e s t i g a t e d ad 0 15 30 45

hesive is shown. The c o p o l y m e r i z e d b e n z o p h e n o n e Time / s
absorbs U V light w i t h i n the spectral region of UV-C
light. The inset in Figure 9 s h o w s the lines of the spec-
tral o u t p u t of a m e d i u m p r e s s u r e m e r c u r y UV lamp, is q Figure 1l--RTiR spectroscopy: benzophenone
con version as a function of the coating weight.
]-
Vol. 74, No. 927, April 2002 45
A. Tauber et a l .

Table l--Laboratory Scale UV Curing: Peel and Shear Strength After Single or Multiple reduction of the rate of ben-
Passes Through lhe UV Lamp (100% Intensity) at Different Speeds of the Web (Coating z o p h e n o n e conversion with
Weight: 65 g m -2)
increasing d e p t h of the coat
W e b Speed Dose Per Pass Tolal Dose Peel Slrength Shear Slrenglh
ing, as can be seen in Figure
m min -~ Passes through Lamp mJ c m -2 rn.J c m -2 N c m -I ~ 11.
The influence of the coat
6 .................................... 1 910 '~ 910 '~ 5.2': 184 'J
1 9 ..................................
2 470 '~ 940 L' 5.3': 186 d
ing weight on the adhesive
] 8 ..................................
3 299'~ 897b 5.1': 189a properties can be seen in Fig-
24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 225 '~ 900 b 4.9': 175 d ure 12. Cohesive failure of the
adhesive, shown by the maxi
(G) rl 1~.181jr~d
I~-,) ,-al,-ulated m u m of the peel strength,
C,-) failure ,:,f t h e a d hesiv@ shifts t o w a r d s h i g h e r UV
cd) failur~ ,:,f t h ~ c a r r i e r
doses on increasing the coat
ing weight. This is a conse
quence of the reduction of the
single photon. In Figure 10, the absorption of photons rate of b e n z o p h e n o n e conversion (Fig~re 11), since a cer-
according to the Beer-Lambert law is shown. 2 It can be tain a m o u n t of crosslinked polymer chains is required to
observed that, u p o n increasing the absorption, the light achieve sufficient cohesion in the adhesive layer. The
intensity and therefore the p h o t o n distribution inside the same holds for the shear strength (inset in Fig~re 12).
photoreactive layer becomes inhomogeneous. While at the lower coating weight a rise of the shear
The inset of Figure 10 shows the absorption of the strength can be observed at low UV dose, in the case of the
adhesive at 254 and 300 nm as a function of the coating increased coating w e i g h t a higher dose is required. The
weight. C o m p a r i n g this data with the Beer-Lambert law difference in the shear strength (180~ vs. 100~ at high
(Fig~re 10) shows that at the m a x i m u m absorption of the UV doses (see inset in Figure 12) m a y result from the
b e n z o p h e n o n e derivative (around 254 nm) the light dis adhesive itselL e.g., distribution of the molecular weight of
tribution in the adhesive layer rapidly becomes inhomo- the acrylic polymer chains.
geneous upon increasing the coating weight. In this wave-
length region the photoinitiator acts as an inner filter that
gives a high degree of crosslinking at the surface and
reduced conversion in the b o d y of the adhesive.17 A r o u n d
CONCLUSION
300 nm, where the b e n z o p h e n o n e also matches lines of The c o n v e r s i o n of the p h o t o r e a c t i v e f u n c t i o n a l g r o u p s
the spectrum of the UV lamp used (see Figure 9 and inset of a U V - c u r a b l e acrylic p r e s s u r e sensitive adhesive was
therein), the p h o t o n absorption is less i n h o m o g e n e o u s studied with RTIR spectroscopy. Experiments were per
(Fig~tre 10 and inset therein). Hence, in this w a v e l e n g t h f o r m e d u n d e r close to technical curing conditions. Single
region the inner filter effect is less p r o n o u n c e d and a a n d multiple UV-light flash e x p e r i m e n t s , as well as
d e e p e r cure is obtained. In general, one w o u l d expect a v a r i a t i o n s of the intensity, have s h o w n that the c o n v e r
sion of the c o p o l y m e r i z e d b e n z o p h e n o n e and, there
fore, the a m o u n t of crosslinked p o l y m e r chains in the
a d h e s i v e , o n l y d e p e n d s o n the a p p l i e d UV dose.
P o s t c u r i n g d o e s not take place. H e n c e , the p r o d u c t i o n

::01.11
.
rate can be i n c r e a s e d b y using successive i r r a d i a t i o n
units. RTIR s p e c t r o s c o p y results w e r e c o n f i r m e d b y
16 ~,, ~, m e a s u r i n g the peel and shear s t r e n g t h of the a d h e s i v e
after UV curing in l a b o r a t o r y scale. The c h r o m o p h o r e of
the a d h e s i v e acts as an inner filter t o w a r d s UV light.
z 12 T h e r e f o r e , the c o n v e r s i o n rate of the b e n z o p h e n o n e
slows d o w n u p o n increasing the thickness of the a d h e
!~11 \ ^ Dose I r~J Cr~ r2 1 sive layer. L a b o r a t o r y e x p e r i m e n t s h a v e s h o w n that at
an i n c r e a s e d coating w e i g h t a higher UV dose is re-
8 ~..~ q u i r e d to obtain a d h e s i v e failure in c o m b i n a t i o n w i t h

I / an increased shear s t r e n g t h after U V c u r i n g of the pres

sure sensitive adhesive.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
1000 2000 3000
The a u t h o r s w o u l d like to t h a n k Mr. Karl H e i n z
Dose / mJ cm 2 S c h u m a c h e r a n d Mr. Ralf Fink f r o m BASF A G
(Ludwigshafen) for supplying us with the adhesives used
t Figure 12--Laboratory-scale UV curing; shear in this study.
and peel strength as a function of the coating
weight: 65 g m-~'( e ) and 130g m-~'(A).

46 Journal of C o a t i n g s T e c h n o l o g y

Re~rences
(1) Schumacher, K. H., Dftsterwald, U., and Fink, R., "'UV Acrylic
Hotmelts--C ombining Hotmelt Coating Teclmology with Acrylic
High Performance Chemistry," Prec. RadTech Eurepe 99, Befli~,
55o (lOOO).
(2) Mehnert, R,, "Radiation Curing: Definition and Basic Charac
teristics/" in UV & EB Curing Technolovy & Equipment, Melmert,
R,, Pincus, A,, and Janovsk.9, I. (Eds.), John Wiley & Sons/
SITA Tedmology Ltd., London, 1000.
(3) Kauffman, T, and Mitry, M,, "'A New Cure for Sticky Situa
tions. Examining Tedmology Advances and Market Opportu-
nities for UV/EB Curable Pressure Sensitive Adhesives," Adhe
sires Age, 2, s8 (2000).
(4) Glofelter, C, "'Valuable Properties. Tg Region Breadth is Criti
cal to UV-Curable PSA Performance," Adhesives Age, 2, s24
(2000).
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Vol. 74, No. 927, April 2002 47