Admixed modifiers for adhesives

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for improving interfacial adhesion of an adhesive to unprimed substrates and an improved adhesive composition, involving admixing an adhesive with an adhesive modifier, where the modifier is at least partially soluble in the at least one adhesive and includes either a non-aromatic polyol or a molecule having at least one ortho-hydroxyl substitution on a benzene ring.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for improving interfacial adhesion of an adhesive to unprimed substrates, comprising the steps of:
 providing at least one adhesive;   providing an adhesive modifier at least partially soluble in the at least one adhesive, comprising a non-aromatic polyol with a number of alcohols of 2 or greater or a molecule having at least one ortho-hydroxyl substitution on a benzene ring; and   mixing the adhesive modifier into the at least one adhesive.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one adhesive is an epoxy (e.g. diglycidyl ether of Bisphenol-A (DGEBA)-based resin), an acrylate-based adhesive, a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), or a thermoplastic urethane or ureas (TPU). 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the adhesive modifier is a monomer or small molecule selected from the group consisting of a dopamine, a maleimide-dopamine monomer, tris, and derivatives thereof. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 3 , wherein the adhesive modifier is a copolymer comprising a first monomer having an ortho-hydroxyl substitution on a benzene ring, and a second monomer that is an acrylate monomer. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein the first monomer is a maleimide-dopamine monomer or a derivative thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein the second monomer is an acrylate with a branched or straight alkyl side chain of between 1 and 12 carbons. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 4 , wherein the copolymer is a polymeric acrylate-maleimide or a derivative thereof 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 5 , wherein the mole fraction of the first monomer in the copolymer is between 0.1 and 0.5. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein after mixing, the adhesive modifier is present in the total formulation mass in an amount less than 1% by weight. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the adhesive is a two part epoxy comprising a first part including a curing agent. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 10 , wherein mixing the adhesive modifier into the at least one adhesive comprises mixing the adhesive modifier into the curing agent. 
     
     
         12 . An improved adhesive, comprising:
 a base adhesive formulation; and   an adhesive modifier present in an amount less than 2% by weight of the total weight of the improved adhesive,   wherein the adhesive modifier comprises a copolymer having a first monomer having an ortho-hydroxyl substitution on a benzene ring, and a second monomer that is an acrylate monomer.   
     
     
         13 . The improved adhesive according to  claim 12 , wherein the first monomer is a dopamine monomer, a maleimide-dopamine monomer, tris, and derivatives thereof 
     
     
         14 . The improved adhesive according to  claim 12 , wherein the second monomer is an acrylate with a branched or straight alkyl side chain of between 1 and 12 carbons. 
     
     
         15 . The improved adhesive according to  claim 12 , wherein the base adhesive is selected from the group consisting of an epoxy, an acrylate-based adhesive, a thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), and a thermoplastic urethane or urea (TPU). 
     
     
         16 . The improved adhesive according to  claim 12 , wherein the adhesive modifier present in an amount less than 2% by weight of the total weight of the improved adhesive. 
     
     
         17 . The improved adhesive according to  claim 12 , wherein the adhesive modifier present in an amount less than 1% by weight of the total weight of the improved adhesive. 
     
     
         18 . The improved adhesive according to  claim 12 , wherein the adhesive modifier present in an amount between 0.2% and 0.6% by weight of the total weight of the improved adhesive. 
     
     
         19 . The improved adhesive according to  claim 12 , wherein the mole fraction of the first monomer in the copolymer is between 0.1 and 0.5.