Soft polymer-silica nanocomposite particles as filler for pressure-sensitive adhesives

Recent Advances on Porous Siliceous Materials Derived from Waste

In recent years, significant efforts have been made in view of a transition from a linear to a circular economy, where the value of products, materials, resources, and waste is maintained as long as possible in the economy. The re-utilization of industrial and agricultural waste into value-added products, such as nanostructured siliceous materials, has become a challenging topic as an effective strategy in waste management and a sustainable model aimed to limit the use of landfill, conserve natural resources, and reduce the use of harmful substances. In light of these considerations, nanoporous silica has attracted attention in various applications owing to the tunable pore dimensions, high specific surface areas, tailorable structure, and facile post-functionalization. In this review, recent progress on the synthesis of siliceous materials from different types of waste is presented, analyzing the factors influencing the size and morphology of the final product, alongside different synthetic methods used to impart specific porosity. Applications in the fields of wastewater/gas treatment and catalysis are discussed, focusing on process feasibility in large-scale productions.

Crosslinking of Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives with Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticles

Nanocomposite filler particles provide multiple routes to mechanically reinforce pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs), as their large surface area to volume ratios provide a means of effectively crosslinking multiple polymer chains. A major advancement could therefore be enabled by the design of a particle architecture that forms multiple physical and chemical interactions with the surrounding polymer matrix, while simultaneously ensuring particle dispersion and preventing particle aggregation. Understanding how such multivalent interactions between a nanoparticle crosslinking point and the PSA polymer affect material mechanical performance would provide both useful scientific knowledge on the mechanical structure-property relationships in polymer composites, as well as a new route to synthesizing useful PSA materials. Herein, we report the use of polymer-grafted nanoparticles (PGNPs) composed of poly(n-butyl acrylate-co-acrylic acid) chains grafted to SiO₂ nanoparticle (NP) surfaces to cohesively reinforce PSA films against shear stress without compromising their adhesive properties. The use of acrylic acid-decorated PGNPs allows for ionic crosslinking via metal salt coordination to be used in conjunction with physical entanglement, yielding 33% greater shear resistance and up to 3-fold longer holding times under static load. In addition, the effects of material parameters such as PGNP/crosslinker loading, polymer graft length, and core nanoparticle size on mechanical properties are also explored, providing insights into the use of PGNPs for the rational design of polymer composite-based PSAs.