Pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs) such as sticky notes and labels are a ubiquitous part of modern society. PSAs with a wide range of peel adhesion strength are designed by tailoring the bulk and surface properties of the adhesive. However, designing an adhesive with strong initial adhesion but shows an on-demand decrease in adhesion has been an enduring challenge in the design of PSAs. To address this challenge, we designed alkoxyphenacyl-based polyurethane (APPU) PSAs that show a photoactivated decrease in peel strength. With increasing time of light-exposure, the failure mode of our PSAs shifted from cohesive to adhesive failure, providing residue-free removal with up to 83% decrease in peel strength. The APPU-PSAs also adhere to substrates submerged underwater and shows a similar photoinduced decrease in adhesion strength.

Light activated adhesion and debonding of underwater pressure sensitive adhesives

ACS Fall 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.