Scientists invent glue that is activated by a magnetic field

Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a new way to cure adhesives using a magnetic field.

Conventional adhesives such as epoxy used to bond plastics, ceramics and wood are usually designed to cure using moisture, heat or light. They often require specific curing temperatures ranging from room temperature to 80 degrees Celsius.

The curing process is necessary for the adhesive to crosslink and bond with the two adhered surfaces while the adhesive crystallizes and hardens to reach its final strength.

NTU’s new ‘magnetocuring’ adhesive can cure by passing it through a magnetic field. This is very useful in certain environmental conditions where current adhesives do not work properly. When the adhesive is sandwiched between insulating material such as rubber or wood, traditional activators such as heat, light and air cannot easily reach the adhesive.

Products such as composite bicycle frames, helmets and golf clubs are currently made with two component epoxy adhesives, where a resin and a hardener are mixed and the reaction starts immediately.

For carbon fiber manufacturers – thin ribbons of carbon glued together layer by layer – and carbon fiber sports equipment makers, their factories use large high-temperature furnaces to cure the epoxy adhesive for many hours. This energy-intensive curing process is the main reason for the high cost of carbon fiber.

The new “magnetocuring” adhesive is made by combining a typical commercially available epoxy adhesive with specially tailored magnetic nanoparticles made by the NTU scientists. It does not need to be mixed with a hardener or accelerator, unlike two-component adhesives (which contain two liquids that must be mixed before use), making it easy to manufacture and apply.

It binds the materials when activated by passing a magnetic field, which is easily generated by a small electromagnetic device. This consumes less energy than a large conventional oven.

For example, one gram of magnetically curing adhesive can be easily cured by a 200 watt electromagnetic device in five minutes (consumes 16.6 watt hours). This requires 120 times less energy than a traditional 2000 watt oven, which takes an hour (2000 watt hours) to cure conventional epoxy.

Developed by Professor Raju V. Ramanujan, Associate Professor Terry Steele and Dr. Richa Chaudhary of the NTU School of Materials Science and Engineering, the findings were published in the scientific journal Applied materials today and offer potential applications in a wide variety of fields.

This includes high-quality sporting goods, automotive products, electronics, energy, aerospace and medical manufacturing processes. Laboratory tests have shown that the new adhesive has a strength of up to 7 megapascals, comparable to many of the epoxy adhesives on the market.

Assoc Prof Steele, an expert in various types of advanced adhesives, explained: “Our main development is a way to cure adhesives within minutes of exposure to a magnetic field, while also preventing overheating of the surfaces on which they are applied. is important because some of the surfaces we want to bond are extremely heat sensitive, such as flexible electronics and biodegradable plastics. “

How ‘magnetocuring’ glue works

The new adhesive is made of two main components: a commercially available epoxy that is heat-cured and oxide nanoparticles made from a chemical combination of manganese, zinc and iron (MnxZn_1-xFe₂O₄).

These nanoparticles are designed to heat up when electromagnetic energy is passed through them, triggering the curing process. The maximum temperature and heating rate can be controlled by these special nanoparticles, eliminating overheating and hot spot formation.

Without the need for large industrial furnaces, the adhesive activation has a smaller footprint in terms of space and energy consumption. Energy efficiency in the curing process is critical to green manufacturing, where products are made at lower temperatures and use less energy for heating and cooling.

For example, athletic shoe manufacturers often struggle to heat up the adhesives between the rubber soles and the top half of the shoe, as rubber is a heat insulator and resists heat transfer to the conventional epoxy adhesive. An oven is needed to warm up the shoe for a long time before the heat can reach the glue.

The use of magnetic field activated adhesive overcomes this difficulty by directly activating the curing process only in the adhesive.

The alternating magnetic field can also be embedded at the bottom of conveyor systems so that products with pre-applied adhesive can be cured as they pass through the magnetic field.

Improve production efficiency

Prof Raju Ramanujan, internationally recognized for his advancements in magnetic materials, jointly led the project and predicts that the technology can increase manufacturing efficiency where adhesive bonding is required.

“Our temperature-controlled magnetic nanoparticles are designed to be mixed with existing adhesive formulations in one jar, so that many of the epoxy-based adhesives on the market can be converted into magnetic field-activated adhesives,” said Prof. Ramanujan.

“The speed and temperature of cure can be adjusted, allowing manufacturers of existing products to redesign or improve their existing production methods. Instead of applying glue and curing it piece by piece in a conventional assembly line, the new Breng pre-apply glue to all parts and cure them as they move along the conveyor chain. Without ovens, this would result in much less downtime and more efficient production. “

The study’s lead author, Dr. Richa Chaudhary, said: “Our newly developed magnetic-curing adhesive takes only minutes instead of hours to cure, and yet it is able to attach surfaces with very strong bonds, which is of great importance in sports. , automotive and aerospace industries. This efficient process can also provide cost savings as the space and energy required for conventional heat treatment is significantly reduced. “

Previous work on heat-activated glue used an electric current flowing through a coil, known as induction curing, in which the glue is heated and cured from the outside. However, the drawbacks include overheating of the surfaces and uneven adhesion due to hot spots in the adhesive.

In the future, the team hopes to involve adhesive manufacturers in commercializing their technology. They have filed for a patent through NTUitive, the university’s innovation and entrepreneurship company. They have already gained interest in their research from sporting goods manufacturers.