How an Adhesive Bond Forms

A compact technical animation of adhesive bonding: wetting, adsorption, mechanical interlocking, and curing/cross-linking.

Adhesive molecules Adsorbed / bonded molecules Cross-links Interfacial forces
Stage 1: Wetting Substrate surface with microscopic roughness / asperities
Wetting
The adhesive must first wet the substrate. Lower contact angle means better spreading and more intimate contact at the interface.