Contact adhesives based on polychloroprene exhibit performance advantages over alternative adhesive systems in a wide variety of related applications where quick, high-strength, permanent bonds are needed. A significant advantage of contact adhesives is auto-adhesion, which results in an instant bond with sufficient green strength so that fixturing is unnecessary. Contact adhesives can also be formulated to provide a long open time before the adhesive-coated substrates are combined. This enables assembly operations to pre-coat or stage the preparation of substrates prior to bonding.
Chemistry and Manufacture
Polychloroprene or chloroprene rubber (CR), introduced by DuPont in 1931, was the first synthetic rubber developed that exhibited the elastomeric properties of natural rubber. The new rubber was given the tradename "Duprene" and then renamed Neoprene. It remains one of the most important speciality elastomers with an annual consumption of 300,000 tons worldwide.In the production of solid-grade polychloroprene, the latex is coagulated, drawn into a thin sheet, and then chopped and dusted to form chips or granules.