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World’s Most Powerful Glue
First Published by Information Unlimited
Transcribed to the
electronic media for you by Thallion of WUFO MCMXCIV.
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Glues, or
adhesives, have always been based on such natural
products as horse hoofs and plant dextrans,
(gums). These glues left much
to be desired and in many cases were replaced by purely chemical
materials
like epoxies. These, however, require the use of two components, mixing
etc.
and are in many ways messy and inconvenient.
Eastman Chemical Company some years ago
synthesized a simple
chemical called Methyl-alpha-Cyanoacrylate. This colorless liquid
belongs
to a class of organic chemicals called acrylate or acrylic monomers.
O
CH O-C-C=CH <- Methyl-alpha-Cyanoacrylate
3 | 2
CðN
Workers
with this material were expecting to convert it into a
polymer (like fiberglass) by reacting
it with a catalyst. They were
surprised to find, however, that it was very reactive and
polymerized very
readily in the presence of a little oxygen.
…—-CH———-CH———CH———CH———CH——–…
| O | O | O | O | O
|
| | | |
HC–C-OCH HC–C-OCH HC–C-OCH HC–C-OCH HC–C-OCH
| 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
3
CðN CðN CðN CðN CðN
The acrylate polymer.
This polymer proved
to be an extremely effective adhesive, so
powerful that it could bind together almost any two
materials (such as
wood, leather, glass, metal etc.) The adhesive could be stored in tubes
as
the monomer and drops could be placed anywhere to polymerize and leave a
very tough
bond.
Because the final adhesive is a polymer, the bond formed is
extremely
though. Single drops of the monomer have been able to support
the weight of elephants. The
glue is so powerful that care has to be taken
to avoid getting any between the fingers, as it
is almost impossible to get
them apart. This material comes under many tradenames, including
Eastman
410.
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