Mechanical and thermal behavior of modified epoxy–novolak film adhesives

Modified epoxy-based film adhesives were developed for bonding structural joints. Film adhesives with different compositions were prepared by hot pressing the molten resins. Peel and shear tests were carried out to evaluate the adhesion properties. Dynamic mechanical thermal analyses were conducted to follow the changes in the adhesive structure and also the trend of impact strength. Incorporation of thermoplastic poly(vinyl butyral) (PVB) into an epoxy- novolak combination resulted in higher cohesive strength, better film-forming ability, enhanced adhesive shear and peel strengths, but decreased thermostability. However, due to the lower chemical functionality of PVB, a lower crosslink density was achieved. Incorporation of a small amount of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDM) as a flexibilizer led to improved mechanical properties, easy handling and facile application. Finally, good shear strength retention up to 200 °C for 1 h was observed in the case of EGDM-modified adhesives.