Tackifiers such as rosin esters, hydrocarbon resins and terpene resins lower the stiffness of an adhesive at the speed of bonding and raise its glass transition, giving faster grab and higher peel. They are key ingredients in rubber PSAs and hot melts. Too much makes an adhesive brittle at low temperature, and some tackifiers yellow or migrate.
Lab bumped the tackifier in the rubber PSA, tack's up but it's too firm in the cold room.
Also heard as
- tackifying resin
Related terms
Tack
The stickiness of an adhesive surface: how quickly it grabs another surface with light pressure and short contact.
PSA
Pressure-sensitive adhesive, the always-tacky layer on tapes and labels that bonds under finger pressure with no cure step.
Hot melt
A solid thermoplastic adhesive melted in a tank or gun, dispensed hot and set within seconds as it cools.
Peel
The force needed to strip a flexible bonded layer off a surface, given per unit width.