Research Student Project
Supervisor name & contact details:
Professor John Cassidy
Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences
John.Cassidy@dit.ie
Research Centre Name and Website (if
applicable)
Applied Electrochemistry Group
Please indicate if the intention is to transfer
from the Masters programme to the PhD
programme (if applicable)
N/a
Please indicate if the project is suitable for a
self-funded student
No
Funding Agency
DIT Fiosraigh Enterprise Scholarship with
Henkel (Ireland)Ltd
Scholarship Details
The scholarship is for 4 years and includes a
student stipend of €16,000 per annum, €2,000
per annum for project expenses and all
research fees for 4 years.
Chemical Sciences/Materials Science
Subject Area
Title of the Project
http://www.dit.ie/focas/research/appliedelectr
ochemistrygroup/
Investigation of Cyanoacrylate Adhesive Bond
Curing and Durability using Electrochemical
Impedance Spectroscopy
Project Description
Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and other techniques will be employed to better
understand the mechanisms of adhesive curing and bonding. EIS can detect ionic movement,
adsorption processes and charge storage occurring at an adhesive/substrate interface and/or in a
bulk bond-line during the curing (polymerisation) process. As a result adhesive formulations with
enhanced service properties can be developed. Investigation of thermal degradation of bonds at
the adhesive/ substrate interface at temperatures well below those required for degradation of
the bulk bond-line adhesive and hydrolytic bond failure will also be carried out.
A range of adhesives will be studied including cyanoacrylate (CA) (Superglue) and other anaerobic
acrylates. Polymerisation is often triggered by traces of basic substances at the
adhesive/substrate interface, resulting in rapid formation of large molecular weight polymers.
However increasing the bond gap from 10 microns (“zero gap bond”) to 100 microns can increase
bond fixture time from a few seconds up to several minutes, sometimes limiting their service
capabilities.
Insights gained from better understanding of the curing process will be of potential benefit to
Henkel (Ireland) Ltd and assist the development of advanced adhesive formulations for possible
use in new applications. In addition the project is of significant academic/ scientific value, further
extending use of the powerful EIS technique, which is increasingly being employed in a range of
new fields.
Please indicate the student requirements for this project
Min. BSc (Hons) in Chemical Sciences or equivalent
Deadline to submit applications (only for
funded projects)
Friday 19th September 2014