Effect of naphthyl curing agent having thermally stable structure on properties of UV-cured pressure sensitive adhesive

Pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs) with higher thermal stability were synthesized by crosslinking acrylic copolymer with naphthyl curing agent. The acrylic copolymer was synthesized for a base resin of PSAs by solution polymerization of 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, and acrylic acid with N,N′-azobisisobutyronitrile as an initiator. The acrylic copolymer was further modified with glycidyl methacrylate to have the vinyl groups available for UV curing. Thermal stability of acrylic PSAs was improved noticeably with increasing naphthyl curing agent content and UV dose mainly due to the extensive formation of crosslinked structure in the polymer matrix. Although the peel strength decreased with UV curing of acrylic polymer, a proper balance between the thermal stability and the adhesion performance of PSAs was obtained by controlling the UV curing with naphthyl curing agent content and UV dose.