ABSTRACT
The research carried out on adhesion of rubber at the Adhesion and Adhesives Laboratory of the University of Alicante had been mainly directed to improve the upper to sole adhesion in shoe industry. Alicante region had been one of the greatest shoe manufacturers in the world and although the competitiveness of Asia and Brazil produced a tremendous decline in production, currently the local shoe industry is interested in manufacturing high added value shoes, one of the main technological efforts being directed to the complete removal of organic solvents during production. The application of surface treatments to rubbers should produce improved wettability, creation of polar moieties able to react with the adhesive, cracks and heterogeneities should be formed to facilitate the mechanical interlocking with the adhesive, and an efficient removal of antiadherend moieties have to be reached. Rubbers tend to swell by application of solvents and the mechanical interlocking of the adhesive is favored.
