New Thermoplastic Heat-Activated Adhesives for Polypropylene: A Route to New Composites, Products and Manufacturing Methods

Polypropylene is an attractive and relatively low cost polymer which finds numerous applications in the engineering and other market sectors such as textiles, footwear and packaging. It is commonly accepted that it is very difficult to bond this material to itself, or other materials, using adhesives without using expensive surface treatment methods or adhesives which do not lend themselves to fast manufacturing methods because of slow cure times. The aim of the presentation will be to describe a new range of heat-activated adhesives, recently developed in our research laboratories that offer numerous advantages for the rapid manufacture of composite materials.