Adhesion of latex films. Part III. Surfactant effects at various peel rates

In order to study the effect of surfactants on the adhesion of latex films, peel energy versus surfactant concentration curves were established at various peel rates. The main latex polymer was a methyl methacrylate (MMA)/ethyl acrylate (EA) copolymer synthesized in the presence of a hydrophilic polyester. Another polymer, less extensively studied, a styrene/butyl acrylate/methacrylic acid terpolymer, was also used for comparison purposes. The surfactants were either sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or ethoxylated nonyl phenol containing 30 segments of ethylene oxide (NP30). The substrates were glass plates or poly(ethylene terephthalate) films. It was found that with SDS-containing films, whatever the substrate or the polymer, the curves went through a maximum, whereas with NP30 they went through a minimum, at medium or high peel rates. When the peel rate was decreased, the curves flattened out and at zero peel rate (extrapolated values), they became horizontal. The peel energies at zero peel rate were three to four times higher than the reversible works of adhesion. Qualitative interpretations are proposed for these results.