Elastomer–Elastomer Interfaces: Mechanisms of Autohesion

Elastomer–elastomer joints are a special case of polymer bonding. Interfacial adsorption, molecular interdiffusion, and entanglements, as well as chemical bonding, are the different mechanisms which intervene in adhesion phenomena. Their relative contribution is not well known and depends on many parameters. If the formation of a thick, interdiffused interface may be important in order to get a strong interface, covalent bonding is often necessary and can occur even though no interdiffusion takes place. In this paper, we are interested in the autohesion mechanism of two elastomers (PI and SBR) for which the mobility and the reactivity have been reduced before assembly. The peel test in air and liquid medium helped us to understand the role of the different contributions.