The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

As technical demands increase in industries such as automotive and construction, engineers face the challenge of enhancing material performance while reducing costs. Structural adhesives have attracted attention due to their ease of application, lightweight design, and high mechanical performance; however, most conventional systems show severe creep or failure at elevated temperatures and lack reprocessability. To address these limitations, this study presents a structural adhesive based on a covalent adaptable network (CAN) enabled by disulfide bond exchange. The adhesive is composed of an aromatic epoxy resin and an amine-based crosslinker, cured via an epoxy–amine reaction to form a dynamic network capable of reversible bond exchange. As a result, it exhibits strong adhesion to metal substrates and remains reprocessable. Moreover, its high glass transition temperature (T_g) ensures reliable adhesion at elevated temperatures, enabling both durable use and on-demand reprocessing.