Acrylic, Rubber or Silicone Adhesive

Before making the first step, the most important piece of knowledge to pack into your backpack is that acrylic, rubber, and silicone adhesives are all pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs). However, the chemical structure of acrylic, rubber and silicone-based adhesives differ significantly, and their properties can also be modified within one adhesive type to fit best for specific needs.

Acrylic adhesives are made from acrylic ester with the use of solvents or with solvent-free manufacturing processes like our unique UV curing technology. Regardless of the underlying technology, acrylic adhesives provide excellent UV resistance, good temperature, and chemical resistance and can be designed to provide good adhesion to a wide range of surfaces, including plastics, metals, and glass. Acrylic adhesives can be formulated to have distinct levels of initial tack, peel- and shear strength to meet specific application requirements. With our special technology, UV cured acrylics can also be designed for residue-free removability, making them suitable for many automotive, aerospace, and outdoor applications. In high indoor applications and at room temperature, the adhesion of acrylics, however, is usually less strong compared to rubber.

Rubber adhesives are made from natural or synthetic rubber and usually provide high initial tack, which means they can create a bond quickly. Rubber based tapes offer good flexibility and their conformability make them a viable choice for uneven or even dirty surfaces. However, most rubber adhesives are limited in temperature, UV or chemical resistance to solvents, acids, and bases and are not ideal in maintaining bond strength over time. To overcome this limitation, tapes like CHR® M783 or CHR M852 are designed with special rubber formulations that perform well after high temperature exposure. Rubber adhesive systems are often used in sealing and gasketing, automotive, HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) or electro-mechanical applications.

Temperature is where silicone adhesives champion! Silicone adhesives not only withstand extreme temperatures and maintain their properties over time, but they also outperform other chemistries at very low temperatures. This adhesive system combines temperature resistance, chemical resistance, and electrical insulation properties with good adhesion properties to a wide range of surfaces, including plastics, metals, and glass. Good removability without residues is also a plus in many applications. On the downside, such high-end performance has a comparatively high price and other adhesive systems score with better adhesion, initial tack, and shorter curing time. Common applications for silicone adhesives are EV (electric vehicles), electro-mechanical, automotive, aerospace or industrial applications where high temperature resistance is crucial like in thermal spray or masking applications.

In addition to this overview and the typical characteristics of different adhesive types, acrylic, rubber, and silicone adhesives can be modified to meet specific application requirements. Common modifications are, for example, adding fillers, stabilizers, or adhesion promoters that can increase flame retardance of tapes where safety is essential like in aerospace, automotive, rail or marine applications.

Saint-Gobain® Norbond® Z3000/Z3100 Series is a good example of how modifying the adhesive system can lead to substantial benefits. In this case, eliminating the need for primers in automotive bonding, this acrylic tape can facilitate assembly processes while providing lasting performance on difficult surfaces.

But with our unique acrylic UV curing technology, for example, customizing the adhesive system can go far beyond placing additives to the formulations and lead to fresh solutions. As you can see, knowing the typical characteristics of different adhesive systems is a good start, but there is more to know about why choosing the right adhesive system for your application is important.

Based on the typical characteristics we discussed above, choosing the right adhesive system for a tape – or the right path at a crossroad of our journey – can be essential for several reasons. First, the adhesive system determines the basic suitability of the tape for the respective application and its compatibility. Choosing the right adhesive needs to consider the substrate material and surface texture to avoid failure that could lead to damage, safety issues or costly rework.

Second, the adhesive system selection affects the tape's performance in different environments and over time. It should take various factors into account such as the temperature range, chemical exposure and other environmental factors like moisture or UV radiation.

Finally, choosing the ideal adhesive system can have significant effects beyond pure performance considerations. Other than over-engineered solutions, the right solution can affect the overall costs and process efficiency by increasing production speed, throughput, or automation options. In reducing the need for special handling, training or equipment, the right adhesive system can add even greater value.

After exploring three types of adhesives that are commonly used in tapes and discussing their characteristics, benefits, applications, and limits, we hope you are well prepared to start finding the right adhesive system for your tape application. Of course, this is only the beginning, and we hope you enjoyed this short journey of knowledge into the tape landscape and are ready to go further.

To get you to your destination and your personal peak performance, let our tape experts guide you through the jungle of alternatives on the shortest way!