OCCA Weekly Webinars Series 13 begins with "Mesh reinforced pressure sensitive adhesive for linerless label design" presented by Emily Brogden of University of Warwick. The webinar will take place via Zoom on Wednesday 1 May at 2:30pm.

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Abstract:

A concept for an on-demand linerless pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) label will be discussed. Containment of a PSA is achieved by entrapment within a scaffolding 3D hard mesh structure. The label sticks upon instant application of heat and pressure, which softens and deforms the mesh allowing for PSA release. The design eliminates the need for a release liner and release coating in labels offering a more sustainable product. The mesh-reinforced PSA system is made by film formation of a binary polymer latex mixture consisting of ‘hard’ (high glass transition temperature, Tg,hard) polystyrene particles and a ‘soft’ (low glass transition temperature Tg,soft) poly(n-butyl acrylate)-based PSA latex of similar particle diameter, onto a model polyethylene terephthalate (PET) facestock. The system is annealed above Tg,hard to fuse the polystyrene colloids, creating a 3D interconnected open cellular network. The porous scaffold is shown by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray computed tomography, and confocal microscopy. The linerless PSA label is in a dormant, ‘non-stick’ state at room temperature, showing excellent blocking resistance under storage conditions. Adhesion is activated on demand with heat (T >Tg,hard) and light pressure. The adhesive behavior of the linerless PSA labels will be discussed using peel, shear strength and tack, its performance being promising.

Speaker Profile - Emily Brogden, PhD Student, University of Warwick

Emily graduated from the University of Warwick in 2020 with a BSc in Chemistry. She is currently in her final year of her PhD at the University of Warwick and supervised by Prof. dr. ir. Stefan Bon. Emilys research focuses on polymer and colloid chemistry in particular on developing new, sustainable pressure sensitive adhesives synthesised using emulsion polymerization. Her research had a one year collaboration (2020-2021) with UPM Raflatac who filled a patent (WO2023105120A1) as a result of the project.

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