Structural and adhesion properties of poly(ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate) post-cured at different temperatures and times

The structure and properties of poly(ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate)s (pECNs) cured at 25 °C during 24 hours, and post-cured at different temperatures (45-90 °C) and times (2-6 hours) were studied. Irrespective of the post-cure conditions, pECN was not fully polymerized and two different structures of different molecular weights and topographies were obtained. The post-cure decreased the shear strength values in joints made with aluminum and ethyl cyanoacrylate due to the decrease in the percentage of higher molecular weight polymeric chains and the formation of new short polymeric chains by unzipping de-polymerization mechanism, both contributed to decrease the mechanical properties. On the other hand, the post-cure changed the morphology of pECN because of nano-spheres were produced by curing at 25 °C which were not present after post-cure at 90 °C.