Tulipalin A-Based Waterborne Acrylic Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives with High Renewable Content
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Waterborne pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) derived from renewable feedstocks offer a route to reduce reliance on fossil resources while retaining the processing advantages of aqueous dispersions. Here, α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone (MBL; tulipalin A) was evaluated as a renewable hard monomer in 2-octyl acrylate (2OA)-rich latexes prepared by seeded semibatch emulsion polymerization. The MBL content, methacrylic acid content, and chaintransfer-agent concentration were varied to balance adhesion and cohesion. Stable latexes with particle diameters of 250–380 nm, glass-transition temperatures from −33 to −28 °C, and theoretical biobased contents of approximately 75–76% were obtained. Reducing the MBL content from 10 to 7 wt% increased the 180° peel resistance from 2.0 to 5.3 N/25 mm, while adding 0.025 wt% chain-transfer agent further increased it to 6.0 N/25 mm. All evaluated formulations sustained a 1 kg static shear load for more than 18,000 min and showed shear adhesion failure temperatures above 215 °C. Rheological measurements confirmed moduli consistent with pressure-sensitive adhesion and predominantly elastic behavior. These results demonstrate that MBL can function as an effective renewable hard monomer in waterborne acrylic PSAs, providing high cohesion and thermal resistance while maintaining useful peel adhesion. Compared with previously reported 2OA/IBOMA waterborne PSAs, the optimized MBL formulation retained comparable peel adhesion while exhibiting markedly enhanced cohesive and thermal resistance, with static shear >18,000 min and SAFT >215 °C.
Source: ChemRxiv
Language: English
Subfield: Biomaterials
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204987678