by Bob Beranek
We have talked about hydroxyl and mechanical bonding the last two weeks and now I want to explain the last and most important bonding step, entanglement bonding. Entanglement bonding means that the molecules intertwine to become stronger. It is the last step an adhesive goes through to permanently bond two surfaces.
Do you ever wonder why some adhesives stick better to some surfaces than others? The answer is in the molecular chemistry of adhesives. A chemist will add molecules to the adhesive that are similar to or will exactly match the surface molecules he wants it to adhere to. He will leave out the ones he doesn’t want it to adhere to. When the molecules locate each other they intertwine (entangle) and bond together.