FLUOROPOLYMERS
are organic compounds consisting of flourine and carbon atoms
but may also contain oxygen or hydrogen. Commonly found fluoropolymers
are tetraflourethylene (TFE), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE
or Teflon®), perfluoroalkyoxy (PFA), perfluoroethylenepropylene
(FEP another grade of Teflon®), modified PTFE (another
grade of Teflon®), polyvinylideneflourdie (PVDF or Kynar®),
ethylene-tertraflouroethylene (EFE or Tefzel®) and ethylene-chlorotriflouroethylene
(ECTFE or Halar®). Each of these fluoropolymers has chemical
and physical properties that differ from one another in durometer,
impact resistance, tensile strength, melting point, chemical
and moisture resistance, and elongation. Among the many uses
of fluoropolymers are lining of pumps, valves and piping
for corrosive liquids and for cookware.
One
of the properties of fluoropolymers that makes it difficult
to bond to is the flourine in it that seals off the carbon
atoms. Fluoropolymers can be bonded to but it requires careful
preparation, and matching of the adhesive's elongation to
the coefficient of expansion (COE) of the materials being
bonded. We recommend the use of BONDiTTM brand
adhesives. No primers or adhesion promoters are usually necessary
to obtain a bond between fluoropolymers or to other stubstrates.
BONDiTTM products
are among the few available that can be used to bond TeflonTM coated
or fluoropolymer substrates to themselves, and to other substrates
for harsh environments and long term deployment without debonding.
The "RELTEK PTFE Bonding Kit", including an etchant to prepare
the fluoropolymer surface to be bonded and BONDiTTM B-45TH
adhesive is available from RELTEK. The kit may be modified
to include any of the BONDiTTM adhesives
to match your specific application.
Our highest recommendation for bonding fluoropolymers (after the substrates
are properly prepared) is our BONDiTTM B-45TH. In
the case of PVDF and ECTFE, no preparation of the substrates is required to
use BONDiTTM products.
Our recommendation would change if you're looking for higher chemical resistance,
in which case we recommend the BONDiTTM B-4811.
If high temperature resistance is required, please call us at (707) 284-8808
for a specific recommendation for your application.
Among
the other substrates which fluoropolymers can be bonded to
using BONDiTTM products are: UHMW,
Delrin, rubber, polyethylene, polyolefin, polypropylene,
polyurethane, silicone, thermoplastics, thermoset, urethane,
glass, ceramics, wood, metals, stone, aggregate and concrete.
Please refer to our propertiescomparison table(s) to compare the properties of various
BONDiTTM products or call us at
(707) 284-8808 or email us at reltek@reltekllc.com.
*TeflonTM is a registered trademark of the Chemours company (formerly DuPont).