Silicone release liners,
problem solving in
release applications
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Elkem Silicones
Silicone release liners, problem solving in release applications
Introduction
Elkem Silicones is one of the foremost fully integrated silicone manufacturer. Elkem Silicones offers a comprehensive
range of silicone products in the sectors of release coating, textile, engineering elastomers, healthcare, specialty fluids.
The Silcolease® range is unique in its ability to cover all technologies used in silicone release
coatings: Solventless thermal, Solventless radiation, Emulsion and Solvent.
The problems that are commonly associated with end use
of Silcolease® products for release applications against
pressure sensitive adhesives are relatively few in number,
but each has many contributing factors, and many
problems are interlinked. This document tries to relate
problems to possible causes or what should be analyzed
and gives advice on how to resolve certain problems.
Problems commonly encountered
1. Release Force 6. Slip/Friction 11. Blocking
2. Bad curing/Migration 7. Die-cutting 12. Telescoping
3. Change of subsequent adhesion 8. Bath life/gelling 13. Laminate curl
4. Printability 9. Gloss Problems 14. Emulsion coating problems
5. Rub-Off 10. Oven dust
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Silicone release liners, problem solving in release applications
Release Force
When you have a release force problem, a question to ask yourself is “Have I got the right
combination of raw materials?”. You should always keep in mind that not all silicones and
adhesives give the same release and that the chemical and physical nature of your liner substrate
can have a significant impact on the release force.
Stock Face
Adhesive
• Chemical nature
• Coat weight
• Residuals (solvents & component migration)
Silicone
• Polymer type & stoichiometry
• Coat weight and uniformity
• Surface energy & release additives
Paper (or filmic substrate)
• Smoothness
• Porosity
• Stiffness
• pH & residual chemicals
Figure 1. What is release coatings?
Here is an example of how the release force can change with
Release Force
silicone polymer type and the speed of peel for any given
adhesive system. Polymer A giving similar release force at any
speed whilst Polymer C rapidly increases with speed of release.
Speed of Release (m/min)
Figure 2. Release Force vs. Peeling Speed
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Silicone release liners, problem solving in release applications
Tight Release
The most fundamental property of the release coating is the requirement of giving suitable
release of the adhesive material that it is protecting. The most common of problems is that
release is not easy enough and this fact can be caused by any number of the conditions that
follow. When we talk about tight release this can be at:
–– High speed only
–– Low speed only
–– All speeds
The following factors have been found to affect the release, and some understanding of these factors will be essential for each case
to be investigated:
• Silicone Release Layer
–– Polymer type –– Uniformity of coating weight –– Surface energy
–– Polymer properties –– Smoothness of coating –– Extent of cure
–– Stoichiometry –– Crosslink density –– Level of release additive
–– Modulus –– Film continuity
–– Coating weight –– Cure mechanism
• Adhesive
–– Chemical nature –– Coating weight –– Residual solvent level
–– Modulus –– Uniformity of coating weight –– Component migration
–– Surface energy –– Cure (crosslinking)
• Substrate
–– Type of paper or film –– Calliper consistency Surface absorbency
––
–– Porosity –– Surface energy Residual chemicals from
––
–– Smoothness –– pH manufacturing
–– Stiffness / Flexibility –– Internal bond strength
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Silicone release liners, problem solving in release applications
• Laminate
–– Type of substrate and face sheet –– Mode of adhesive application –– Elongation
–– Stiffness / Flexibility –– Moisture content balance
• Converting
–– Stripping speed –– Stripping angle
–– Mode –– Physical dimension
• Key Paper Properties
–– Porosity –– Surface bond strength –– pH
–– Internal bond strength –– Smoothness –– Surface absorbency
–– Stiffness / Flexibility –– Caliper consistency
• Paper Chemicals
–– Nature of clay coating –– Binder chemistry
–– Sizing chemistry –– Inhibitors of platinum
However, many of these factors will be well known when any problem is reported. From the
silicone side of the problem it is essential to establish for any complaint of tight release that the
following factors are known:
–– Coat weight
–– Coverage (pinholes etc....)
–– Cure
–– Silicone formulation / composition
–– Release specificity to particular adhesives
By establishing these basics, it should then be possible to decide on which area to concentrate
to explain the occurrence of tight release. Only from an understanding of these factors can a
solution be proposed with any confidence.
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Silicone release liners, problem solving in release applications
Release instability/Variation in release values
Release values are measured usually after a certain set period of time for either silicone coated papers or for laminates. The
variation in the release test results (typically FINAT TM 3, 4 & 10) can vary by at least 10% simply due to experimental error/
variation and the vast number of factors affecting a single measurement. Obviously each construction will have different
parameters with varying degrees of effect, and so there will be cases of perfect reproducibility and others of huge variation. These
variations are unavoidable, in practice, when measuring a liner release against the most relevant adhesive.
The release values vary to differing degrees, but on certain occasions an increase or reduction of release values over time (for
either the liner alone or the laminate) can cause problems for end applications. In summary, the main effects are as follows:
• Lock-up - Release values increase with age of laminate
Because of an interaction between “acrylic” adhesives and residual silicone reactive groups, by poor coverage of silicone, poor
silicone cure, poor adhesive drying, silicone or adhesive formulation (migration of tackifier or resins in adhesive or silicone).
• Drop-off - Release values decrease with age of laminate or paper
–– Poor cure of silicone (migration)
–– Hydrolysis of excess crosslinker (SiH) groups
–– Migration from face or backing substrate (particularly PVC)
–– General adhesive degradation
• Reel to reel - Where inconsistent values are seen from one run to another
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Silicone release liners, problem solving in release applications
Too Low Release
–– Silicone formulation (e.g. not enough tight RCA for solventless silicone)
–– Coat weight too high
Zippy
–– Under-cure (migration)
–– Adhesive problem (drying, formulation, de-wetting…)
Two other common release phenomena can occur, namely Zippy release, otherwise known as a Slip-Stick type of release, and Peak
Release
release, an initial high release force.
Zippy Release
This problem manifests itself mainly in low speed release. The average release can be good but
the release curve is very spiky with a large variation between minimum and maximum values for
a peel test. The reasons for the zippy release are most commonly very similar to those causing
peak release problems but when compared to a smooth release profile sample, a slow speed
zippy release will also show more “zippy” nature at high speed.
Most common causes are:
–– Adhesive modulus, tackifier level and type, etc.
Release Force
–– Pinholes / poor coverage of silicone Trend Line
–– Chemical or physical interactions
–– Backing and face substrates stiffness and strength
Figure 3. Zippy Release
–– Silicone modulus
Peak Release Release Force trendline
Usually appears as a very tight release peak at low to medium peeling speed.
Most common causes are :
–– Adhesive modulus –– Chemical or physical interactions –– Silicone modulus
–– Pinholes/poor coverage of –– Backing and face substrates –– Die-cutting problems
silicone stiffness and strength
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Silicone release liners, problem solving in release applications
Bad Curing/Migration
Cure is difficult to define as an absolute factor as the only true effect is whether the laminate performs adequately under the end
use. Some laminate constructions are capable of accepting a degree of under-cure that in other more sensitive areas would cause
total rejection of the laminate.
• Bad cure (under-cure/smear/migration/extractables) can be most commonly attributed to:
–– Machine speed too fast
–– Temperature too low (oven air velocities, etc.)
–– Coat weight
–– Silicone formulation (SiH/SiVi, catalyst level, etc.)
–– Substrate - catalyst poisoning
–– Age of bath
–– Other potential inhibitors of reaction (from machine, raw materials, etc)
–– Solvent type & grade - volatility, inhibition (Sulphur free grades)
• Silicone extractables as a measure of cure
A commonly used industry standard but it is important to understand the relevance of this test!
–– Non-chemically linked materials are extracted from the cured network by an organic solvent and measured analytically
–– Some silicone materials can be non-chemically linked but form a stable and reliable release performance
–– Extractable species are not necessarily the same thing as migrating species
–– Many applications can be unaffected by, or even benefit, from a small amount of migrating silicone:
-- Bitumen
-- High adhesive coat weight applications
-- Zippy release
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Silicone release liners, problem solving in release applications
Change of subsequent adhesion
Sometimes the tack and adhesive performance can be changed after contact with the silicone coated substrate. The single most
important factor is likely to be silicone migration caused by poor curing, but this is not the only effect.
The most important factors are:
• Low subsequent adhesion
–– Under cure of silicone leading to migration
–– Other migratory material from backing or top face or from within adhesive itself
–– Very rough silicone surface can reduce the smoothness of the adhesive
–– Adhesive deterioration with age, atmospheric exposure, moisture content of paper etc...
• Higher subsequent adhesion
–– Very smooth silicone surface can improve the smoothness of the adhesive
–– There can be adhesive changes due to contact with silicone such as tackifier migration etc...
Printability Problems
These can be either on the back of the silicone paper, or on the top face of the laminate.
–– Off-line: Silicone under-cure causing migration to the back of the paper (and then potentially on to top face).
–– In-line: Silicone volatiles or misting.
–– Substrate problems: penetration of silicone through paper.
–– Silicone or other sprays used around printing machines.
Figure 4. Printability problems
–– General contamination from a dirty machine, or another source.
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Silicone release liners, problem solving in release applications
Rub-Off
This can be seen immediately or on ageing of the silicone coated substrate:
• Silicone formulation (can be anchorage or adhesive failure, or cohesive failure of the cured silicone):
–– Too low crosslinker level
–– Wrong crosslinker type
–– Poor cure
–– Crosslink density of the silicone (more relevant for solventless silicone grades)
• Substrate (will lead to anchorage or adhesive failure):
–– Too smooth or too low in porosity
–– Surface energy (films) Figure 5. Example of silicone
anchorage onto difficult filmic
–– Surface inhibition substrates, here with PET
–– Lack of adequate corona or other surface treatment
• Type of solvent used for dilution
• Aged rub-off can be due to:
–– Post curing
–– Re-orientation of silicone matrix
–– Migration to substrate surface of disruptive materials
–– Surface energy changes
Slip/Friction
The lack of friction or slipperiness of the silicone surface can cause production problems further
down the converting line.
These can be controlled to some extent by:
–– Silicone type: solvent Vs solventless, hardness, etc.
–– Silicone cure: migrating silicone
–– Coat weight
–– Additives
Figure 6. Slip/Friction
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Silicone release liners, problem solving in release applications
Die Cutting
Not usually a silicone problem but matrix removal may highlight release problems. Soft silicones can be more easily damaged by
die-cutting process and could lead to subsequent problems.
Bath Life/Gelling Figure 7. Die-Cutting
Bath life problems can lead to bad release, bad cure, rub-off or general runnability problems caused by viscosity changes and
gelling. The main reasons for bath life problems are:
–– Silicone formulation (too reactive - high catalyst, high crosslinker or low inhibitor levels)
–– Solvent type and grade (volatility, inhibiting nature)
–– Ambient temperature
–– Inhibitor evaporation or reaction with other material
–– In emulsions - droplet coalescence leading to micro-gelling
–– Temperature on the machine generated by coating head or bath handling apparatus
–– Bath size and storage
Gloss Problems
Gloss levels are often used as an indicator of quality. Loss of gloss through a coating run could suggest bath life problems or a
general change in process conditions. Gloss can also have some useful properties in terms of release level and subsequent gloss
level of the adhesive leading to change in immediate tack. Low gloss on a silicone coated substrate can be due to:
–– Paper surface (too rough or too porous)
–– Silicone cure often associated with aged baths
–– Too much heat on PE Kraft can cause PE to fuse (as can wrong grade of PE)
–– Micro-gels in silicone emulsions
–– Adhesive / silicone interaction causing surface damage Figure 8. Gloss Problems
–– Rub-off
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Silicone release liners, problem solving in release applications
Oven Dust
Dust can come from many sources such as paper. When we consider silicone dust, this is usually only residue from tin catalyst
in the older style polycondensation systems, or volatile silicones which have been thermally degraded to silica. This degradation
normally only occurs when direct flame burners are used to heat the drying / curing air which is then recirculated through the
ovens several times. Dust can also be a problem on paper machines using direct contact drying cylinders.
Blocking
This problem was a severe problem with older tin catalysed systems. It is mainly seen with two side silicone coated substrates with
today’s more commonly used polyaddition silicones. There is a strong bond between the two sides of the paper which leads to the
surfaces sticking together under pressure in the reel. This is sometimes only a nuisance in terms of noise (when re-reeling / slitting
/ converting), but in its worst case can cause damage to the silicone surface or even cause paper tears. Figure 9. Oven Dust
• Blocking is most commonly caused by:
–– Under-cure of silicone followed by interaction between surfaces
–– Softness of silicone coating
–– Static problems
• Blocking can be made worse by:
–– Very tightly wound reels
–– Certain re-humidification conditions causing swelling of fibres after reeling
–– Plasticising materials in the silicone formulation
Telescoping
The telescoping of the reel edges can be caused by several factors:
• Silicone formulation: • Coating conditions: • Problem with the machine:
–– Lack of slip properties –– Inappropriate coatweight –– Misalignment of incoming webs or winder rolls
–– Too low coefficient of friction –– Nature of the network (too hard or too soft) –– Unsymmetrical diameter of paper roll
–– Variation in thermic properties at curing
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Silicone release liners, problem solving in release applications
Laminate Curl
Excessive drying of paper based substrates can lead to curl in the laminate. To avoid this effect
either a low temperature thermal cure silicone, good rehumidification or a less sensitive substrate
must be used. This curl problem is even more significant with emulsion based silicones.
Emulsion Coating Problems
There are several different problems occurring due to the use of emulsion silicones in particular:
–– Wrinkles/cockling effect of water on paper
–– Curl due to moisture imbalances caused by excessive drying of papers
–– Wetting problems due to surface tension or viscosity of emulsion coating bath
–– Higher energy to dry water can give curing problems
–– Foaming, micro-gelling in droplets, basic emulsion stability and effects such as coalescence are fairly unique to emulsions
–– Solids increase due to preferential absorption of water into paper
Summary
The problems listed in this document are those most commonly facing the silicone release liner side
of the self-adhesive laminate market. The testing of each variable suggested can be done according
to standard test methods either from industry standards (such as FINAT, TAPPI, and TLMI) or from
other set methods. Elkem Silicones has available a full list of test methods that are followed to test
all parameters discussed. Other test regimes are used, such as standard FINAT methods (for all
laminate related tests), or generally accepted tests used within the industry.
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Elkem Silicones is one of the world’s leading fully
integrated silicone manufacturers with applications
and research laboratories, production sites and sales
offices located around the globe.
At Elkem Silicones, we’re more than just high quality
silicone products and associated services. We are a team of
professionals located around the globe ready to provide you
with the service and performance you deserve with
a personal touch.
From technical support to customized formulations and
regulatory support, Elkem Silicones has the people in place
when and where you need them, committed to help you deliver
your potential. Because we care!
The information contained in this document is given in good faith based on our current knowledge. It is only
an indication and is in no way binding, particularly as regards infringement of or prejudice to third party
rights through the use of our products. Elkem Silicones guarantees that its products comply with its sales
specifications. This information must on no account be used as a substitute for necessary prior tests which
alone can ensure that a product is suitable for given use. Determination of the suitability of product for the
uses and applications contemplated by users and others shall be the sole responsibility of users. Users are
responsible for ensuring compliance with local legislation and for obtaining the necessary certifications and
authorizations. Users are requested to check that they are in possession of the latest version of this document
and Elkem Silicones is at their disposal to supply any additional information.
For detailed commercial contacts please visit our website : www.silicones.elkem.com
