New High Performance Styrenic Block Copolymer for Hot-Melt Adhesives
Donn A. Dubois, KRATON Polymers U.S. LLC - Westhollow Technology Center, Houston, Texas
KRATON Polymers have been leading innovative developments in the field of styrenic block copolymers1 (SBC) since their first commercialization in 1965. These polymers are constructed using anionic chemistry which allows a high degree of precision in engineering molecular architectures. As a result new structures are continually being developed which show unique properties in adhesives.
Until now, two families of non-hydrogenated SBC have been widely used in Hot Melt Adhesives (HMA):
- styrene - isoprene -styrene block copolymers, called SIS and
- styrene - butadiene - styrene block copolymers, called SBS.
Both families have specific properties and are used in large volumes in their respective application fields. Further, with variable successes, SIS and SBS have also been combined in a single formulation for several reasons. For instance: to make economically attractive packaging tape and disposable non-woven adhesives; to improve the hot-melt stability of adhesives; or to improve label converting (matrix stripping without adhesive threads).
KRATON Polymers now have developed a new styrenic block copolymer with a hybrid elastomer composition that combines both isoprene and butadiene in the mid-block. This polymer is a completely new concept that can broaden the application field of SBC's in hot-melts.
In this presentation, I will highlight the beneficial and sometimes unexpected properties that such novel chemistry brings to the Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (PSA) Market.
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