Introduction
Insufficient bond strength, a tendency to deform or crack during use, and poor durability are significant drawbacks of adhesives and sealants. Can these drawbacks be solved? Actually, by adding SBR emulsion (styrene-butadiene rubber emulsion) to your formula, these problems can be effectively addressed. This article will guide you to deeply understand the application of SBR emulsion in adhesives and sealants.
Advantages of SBR Emulsions in Adhesives and Sealants
Enhanced Bond Strength
Bonding strength is an important performance indicator for your adhesives and sealants. The role of SBR emulsion in this process is to help form a tough, flexible bonding layer, enhancing adhesion to various substrates, improving final bonding strength, reducing the risk of cracking and deformation, and maintaining a long-term stable bonding effect.
Improved Product Flexibility
Enhanced flexibility ensures that your adhesives and sealants resist cracking under various external impacts, significantly extending their service life.
High Substrate Compatibility
- Alkaline and highly absorbent alkaline substrates
- Smooth metal substrates
- Hard-to-wet plastic substrates
- Porous wood substrates
Based on the formulation design, all the aforementioned substrates are highly compatible.
Enhanced Durability
Water Resistance: The adhesive layer resists softening or loss of adhesion during prolonged exposure to high-humidity environments.
Alkali Resistance: Performance remains unaffected when applied to alkaline substrates such as cement mortar.
Low-Temperature Resistance: Maintains flexibility in cold environments, resisting cracking and embrittlement.
Low-VOC environmental protection
SBR emulsion is a water-based, environmentally friendly polymer emulsion with low odor and low VOCs. It can enhance the performance of your adhesives or sealants while also adhering to the concept of environmentally friendly products, thereby further boosting the market competitiveness of the product.
Formulation Application of SBRÂ Emulsion in Adhesives and Sealants
Adhesive Formulation Applications
In the adhesives sector, SBR latex is primarily used in construction adhesives, flooring adhesives, carpet backing adhesives, paper and packaging adhesives, and pressure-sensitive adhesives. Detailed formulation applications are listed in the table below:
| Application | Recommended SBR Latex Typical dosage range | Recommended Grade | Performance Improvement |
| Construction Adhesives | 5–15% | RT-9608 / RT-9608A | Improve bonding strength and flexibility |
| Tile Adhesive | 3–10% | RT-9608 / RT-9608A | Enhance adhesion, water resistance and crack resistance |
| Carpet Backing Adhesives | 30–60% | RT-9690 / RT-9691 | Improve fiber bonding, coating strength and durability |
| Paper & Packaging Adhesives | 10–40% | RT-9690 / RT-9691 | Improve wet tack, bonding strength and flexibility |
| Pressure Sensitive Adhesives | 40–70% | RT-9691 | Improve tack, adhesion and holding power |
Sealant Formulation Applications
SBR latex is mainly used in cement-based sealants, crack repair sealants, and asphalt-based sealants. Detailed formulation applications are listed in the table below:
| Application | Recommended SBR Latex Typical Dosage Range | Recommended Grade | Performance Improvement |
| Cement-based Sealants | 5–15% | RT-9608 / RT-9608A | Improve bonding strength, flexibility, water resistance, and crack resistance |
| Crack Repair Sealants | 10–30% | RT-9608 / RT-9608A | Improve adhesion, flexibility, and resistance to crack recurrence |
| Asphalt-based Sealants | 5–30% | RT-9660 | Improve low-temperature flexibility, weather resistance, and crack resistance |
| Tile Joint Sealants / Grouts | 3–10% | RT-9608 / RT-9608A | Enhance adhesion, flexibility, and durability |
Note: As formulations vary depending on the specific product application, the above are merely general formulas provided for reference.
How to optimize the formula when there are issues with it?
In actual production, even if you select the appropriate SBR emulsion type, the performance of the final product may still be affected by formulation design, raw material compatibility, and the production process. For common problems, you can improve the situation by adjusting the dosage of SBR emulsion, choosing the appropriate type, or optimizing the combination of additives.
Insufficient Water Resistance
If the strength of your adhesive or sealant decreases, turns white, or fails to bond properly after coming into contact with water, it indicates that its waterproofing performance is inadequate.
You should appropriately increase the amount of SBR emulsion added to enhance the polymer film formation effect and improve the water resistance.
Choose the appropriate model based on the application. For example, for cement substrates, more attention should be paid to the bonding strength and alkali resistance, while for asphalt substrates, more attention should be paid to flexibility and weather resistance.
Poor Flexibility or Cracking
If your product develops cracks after being exposed to low temperatures or when the substrate undergoes deformation, it usually indicates that the product lacks elasticity.
It is suggested to increase the proportion of SBR emulsion to enhance the flexibility of the material and reduce the risk of cracking, optimize the ratio of polymer to cementing materials, and find a balance between strength, flexibility, and cost.
Low Bonding Strength
If the adhesion between your product and the substrate is insufficient, it might be due to insufficient polymer content or poor formulation synergy. In such cases, you can appropriately increase the dosage of SBR emulsion to enhance the interface bonding ability.
In combination with other additives, such as:
Cellulose Ether: improves water retention and construction performance;
RDP: enhances flexibility and durability;
Defoamer: improves the film formation effect.
Poor Workability
If there are issues such as difficulty in mixing, uneven coating, or poor construction feel with your product, you need to optimize the entire formula. You can adjust the amount of SBR emulsion according to the construction requirements.
At the same time, optimize the combination of additives to enable the SBR emulsion, thickener, defoamer, etc. to work together synergistically.
Poor Storage Stability
If there is layering, sedimentation, or viscosity change in your product, you need to pay attention to the compatibility of the emulsion with other raw materials.
It is recommended to conduct a small-scale test before production to confirm the compatibility of the SBR emulsion with other components. Or, by adjusting the pH value and the proportion of additives, you can improve the storage stability.
FAQs
What is the Primary Reason for the Increasing Use of SBR Emulsions in Adhesives and Sealants?
SBR latex strikes a balance between bond strength and flexibility in adhesives and sealants, avoiding the issue of high bond strength coupled with poor flexibility.
How Cost-Effective Is SBRÂ Latex for Adhesives and Sealants?
SBR latex offers excellent cost-performance value. Compared to some high-performance polymers, it delivers good initial tack, water resistance, and low-temperature performance at a lower cost, meeting the requirements of most applications such as construction adhesives, carpet adhesives, and paper adhesives.
How to Select the SBRÂ Emulsion That Suits Your Formulation?
Choose based on your application type from various SBR emulsion specifications, such as solid content, Tg, viscosity, particle size, water resistance, etc.
What Are the Differences Between SBRÂ Emulsion and Natural Latex?
SBR emulsion is a polymer emulsion synthesized through artificial technology. It has better flexibility, weather resistance and waterproofing performance. Natural latex has good elasticity, but its functions are limited. Overall, SBR emulsion is more suitable for current industrial manufacturing.
What Is the Difference Between SBRÂ Emulsion and Acrylic Emulsion in Adhesives?
The SBR emulsion has better flexibility and low-temperature resistance, while acrylic emulsion usually has advantages in weather resistance and transparency. In the production of adhesives and sealants, using both can result in better performance when used together.
Which Factors in the Adhesive and Sealant Formulations Can Affect the Performance of SBRÂ Emulsion?
The proportion of fillers in the formulation, the water-to-cement ratio, the pH value, and the type of additives will all be factors that influence the performance of SBR emulsion.
Is It Better for the Solid Content of SBR Emulsion to Be Higher?
No, it’s not necessarily the case that the higher the better. The solid content (solid content) needs to be balanced according to the specific application scenario. Unthinkingly, pursuing a high solid content may even cause side effects to your product.
Celotech Ruico SBR Latex Solutions for Adhesives and Sealants
Celotech Ruico is a Chinese manufacturer of SBR latex with 14 years of industry experience. We handle everything from independent R&D to production and sales, and we have extensive experience exporting our products.
Currently, our SBR latex is sold in over 40 countries worldwide, earning recognition from numerous global customers. We offer one-stop solutions for SBR emulsion formulations used in adhesives and sealants; please feel free to contact us if you are interested.
