Polyalkyl 2-cyanoacrylates begin to retropolymerize and deteriorate dramatically at temperatures above 80°C. They bond rapidly to the metal surfaces and readily lose strength even at ambient temperatures. These two drawbacks of the cyanoacrylates have made this class of adhesives unpopular as structural adhesives. Several attempts have been made to increase the thermal stability and the stability of the bond between the metal surfaces by adding chemicals like cyclopentadienoates and anhydrides to the cyanoacrylates.
Twenty-six alkyl, alkenyl, cycloalkyl, and substituted alkyl 2-cyanoacrylates were synthesized in the pure state. The purity was determined by gas-liquid chromatography, and a correlation between the log retention time and the number of carbons in the compounds within the homologous series was deduced. Their physical properties such as parachor and molar refraction were determined and the data were fitted to a linear relation to the number of carbons present in the ester within a homologous series of cyanoacrylates.
