Thermoreversible Apparel Adhesives to Enable Sustainable Garment Assembly

Abstract Over 90 million tons of fabric waste are generated annually by the apparel industry and there exists an urgent need to develop innovative approaches for the recycling of garments. Reversible adhesives can both enable the automation of labor‐intensive assembly processes and facilitate fabric recycling for a circular apparel economy. Herein, an adhesive formulation based on thermoreversible Diels–Alder chemistry has been developed via the combination of a furan‐functionalized methacrylate copolymer (F) with a bismaleimide (M). To establish the fine balance between adhesion strength and reversible bonding, an extensive screening on the optimal composition and molar mass of F is conducted. Methyl, 2‐ethylhexyl, and lauryl methacrylate are used to tune the T_g of F copolymers, whereas H‐bonding monomers such as methacrylic acid and 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate are utilized to strengthen the adhesive and improve its interactions with cotton. Following the optimization of F composition, F molecular weight, and M crosslinker, the scaled‐up thermoreversible adhesive is studied by rheometry and successfully dispensed via an automated assembly platform. The adhered fabrics are tested for the required shear and peel strength and then separated for fabric recycling by a short heat treatment followed by a simple solvent wash to remove adhesive residues.