ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses silicone Pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) technology with a special focus on its unique chemistry, properties, processing, and applications. The technological importance of the silicone PSA is best appreciated through its commercial and industrial applications, particularly their persistent and ever-increasing importance in a wide range of industries and applications. Market research demonstrates that silicone PSAs represents only a small fraction of the overall market for PSAs, but they are a very important class of adhesives used in a wide range of different applications. Conventional silicone PSAs are delivered in solvent, specifically in toluene or xylene. Aqueous PSA emulsions are a commercially important delivery system for organic PSAs but are not widely used for silicone PSAs. Addition-cure silicone PSAs offer many process advantages for end users. Silicone PSAs may be applied using a range of different coating techniques, although there are limitations due to the viscosity range of the materials.
