(209c) Laser Induced Debonding of Strong Adhesives

High-strength adhesives can mechanically fuse two surfaces together and are used in various industrial applications. However, when a product must be recycled or removed, it is necessary to reverse the adhesion. Debonding of high-strength adhesives has traditionally been accomplished using volatile solvents and mechanical fracture. Both methods are costly, environmentally damaging, and often destroy the product. Here we report on the development of a general way to separate strong adhesive bonds between transparent-opaque and transparent-transparent substrates using pulsed laser irradiation. The laser debonding technique is fast, energy-efficient and has several potential industrial applications.