FEICA 2024 European Adhesive & Sealant Conference and EXPO
NH Conference Centre, Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands - 11-13 September 2024

Presentation Abstract

Functional Components for Debonding-on-demand

In today’s manufacturing and assembly processes, adhesives enhance production efficiency, freedom of design, lightweight construction, and durability. However, as most adhesives are designed to last, they typically complicate the dismantling of the adhered parts, which can limit repair or recycling possibilities.

One possibility to allow better repairability and dismantling is to design adhesives which can be de-bonded on demand by exposure to a specific trigger. Although this concept is not new, there are currently only limited solutions on the market. However, the upcoming regulatory obligations for repair and recycling, along with growing public awareness of sustainability, necessitate solutions to be found and established on the market.

We are intensively investigating different approaches to design functional components for adhesives that enable easy and efficient de-bonding by a specific trigger. The focus is to develop drop-in solutions for different types of adhesives that can be used in established formulations and technologies.

In this contribution, we would like to introduce our approach for polyurethane-based adhesives with a thermal trigger. Additionally, we will showcase the first proof-of-concepts and discuss potential applications of these adhesives to enhance circularity.