Comparison of the Adhesion and Cohesion of Triblock and Random Copolymers of Styrene and Butadiene

A substantially greater detachment energy is required to strip a polyethylene tereph-thalate (Mylar) film from a styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) triblock copolymer compared to that for peeling from a random styrene-butadiene (SBR) copolymer. This is true even though the intrinsic interaction between the Mylar and each elastomer is expected to be similar because of their virtually identical chemical composition. It is proposed that this difference in peel strength (between the SBS and SBR) is a consequence of the much higher dissipative capacity of the former elastomer. Another manifestation of this is the higher cohesive tear strength of the SBS compared to the SBR. Extents of energy dissipation within each elastomer during detachment of the Mylar adherend are consistent with the hypothesis that the average maximum stress experience before detachment is some similar fraction of each elastomer's tensile strength.