Modern adhesives can work wonders when say, applying a bumper sticker to your car or engaging in some arts and crafts, but there are still many materials that resist their sticky grasp. Now scientists in Canada have come up with a new formula they say can fill the gaps, using ultra-strong connections at the molecular level to create new kinds of bonds between unlikely material partners.
The research was carried out by material scientists at the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria, who describe their new adhesive as a “hyper glue.” The key to the new formula is a process described as cross-linking, which takes place when the team’s specially designed molecules are exposed to heat or long-wave UV light, causing a new kind of chemical reaction.
“These molecules can be thermally or photochemically activated to form carbenes that readily insert into the polymer carbon-hydrogen bonds, thus leading to cross-linking,” the researchers write.
According to the team, these cross-linked bonds can hold together different materials while remaining impact and corrosion resistant. The technique can be “broadly applied” to plastics and synthetic fibers, creating opportunities to mix and match materials that commercially available glues are unable to bring together.