5.2.3 Adhesive Chemical-Specific Properties

5.2.3 Adhesive Chemical-Specific Properties

The adhesion, cohesion and overall strength of bonded assemblies can vary depending on the chemistry of the adhesive product and the specific chemicals that the cured adhesive is subjected to over the life span of the assembly. Each specific chemistry or technology has its respective benefits and considerations that should be considered, especially when selecting an adhesive for an application that will be subjected to specific chemicals. Although adhesives and sealants are often formulated from the same types of base materials, they are specifically engineered to have different properties; therefore, each adhesive should be evaluated individually based on its specific properties.

As Table 21 shows, there are a large number of technologies, which each have specific benefits and considerations, and with each chemistry having typical representative characteristics. This is a high-level overview; each chemistry is covered in depth in the following section.