Adhesive and sealant formulators face a significant challenge: maintain the material's rheological performance between the time it is manufactured and the time it is applied.

Cabot's fumed silica controls the rheology of adhesives and sealants such as epoxy, acrylics, urethanes and silicone systems – giving formulators the ability to tailor the viscosity of a system to their own requirements.

Cabot's untreated fumed silicas provide effective rheology control in non-polar systems. In medium to high polarity systems, treated fumed silicas out-perform untreated fumed silica in providing stable rheology control.

Ideal for structural adhesives and sealants for electronics, automotive, and construction applications, Cabot fumed silicas provide the following benefits:

• Increased viscosity
• Anti-settling or suspension of fillers and pigments
• Sag resistance during application and curing
• Shear thins at high shear for easy application/gunning
• Reinforcing agent for sealants

Cabot particles can also provide improved mechanical strength to adhesives, particularly when they remain well dispersed in the final polymer system.  In waterborne adhesive systems, which comprise a large fraction of the total adhesives market including pressure sensitive and contact adhesives for labeling, construction, flooring and other applications, the superior state of dispersion provided by CAB-O-SPERSE dispersions can enable additional functionality such as:

• Formulation flexibility and ease-of-use
• Shear strength enhancement
• Retention of adhesive strength
• Increased immediate adhesive green strength
• Good open time management