≡× MENU

• Interior
• Windows
• Walls
• Projects
• Buildings

Why does polystyrene foam dissolve in acetone? Do-it-yourself marble concrete floor in the garage. Foam adhesive - application

Not everyone is lucky in physics or chemistry lessons, especially if the teacher is a cracker and loves only theory. But nothing prevents you from conducting some safe experiments at home under the supervision of adults and other curious people. In this story we will show you 3 scientific experiments. In the video you can see how to make polystyrene at home and others.

Experiment with water coloring.

For the first experiment you need potato starch, 9% vinegar, 3% hydrogen peroxide, iodine, and vitamin C or, in other words, ascorbic acid. Pour warm water into a glass and dissolve a tablespoon of starch in the water. Pour approximately the same amount of water into the second glass, crush three vitamin C tablets and mix ascobrinka with water. And pour the same water into the third glass, add a little iodine and two tablespoons of vinegar. Now pour the glass with vitamin C into the glass with iodine. A reaction occurs. The iodine loses its color and the water becomes almost transparent. Pour dissolved starch into the same glass and add 5 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide. We wait a few seconds. An interesting reaction occurs - when white colors are mixed, a black-blue color appears from somewhere. This experiment can be done as a trick. Many people know why the liquid changes color, if you also know, then write in the comments.

Dissolving polystyrene foam in acetone and obtaining polystyrene.

For the next experiment, let's take some container. If your hands are in the wrong place, be sure to wear gloves. Next, pour acetone into the container. We put the foam in acetone and the foam disappears somewhere. The foam disappears and the liquid begins to thicken. In this case, the gas that was in the foam is actively released. This used to be a homemade glue recipe. However, it was not very sticky. Many will say that there is nothing surprising in this experiment. In fact, polystyrene foam is 98% gas contained in microscopic thin-walled polystyrene cells, and acetone displaces this gas but does not dissolve anything. At the end of the reaction we have a thick mass similar to glue and consisting of polystyrene.

What happens if you mix oil, water and iodine?

To do the next experiment, pour water into a glass and then oil. No matter how you stir, the oil will always separate from the water and float, since the density of oil is less than the density of water.

Then we pour salt into the glass, an interesting reaction begins. Add some iodine to the glass. Let's put it on a flashlight and add some effervescent tablet to the glass, which you can buy at the pharmacy. Again, we get a funny and beautiful reaction.

Content

Introduction

Theoretical part

1. Using polystyrene foam.

   What does foam plastic interact with and not interact with?

Practical part.

Conclusions

Conclusion

References

Introduction

Foam plastic -environmentally friendly, Foam plasticdoes not have high density(50 times lower than water), but, nevertheless, it shows excellent resistance to uniform mechanical loads, both tensile and compressive.

Foam plastics approved for use in construction and packaging are not toxic materials; some types (for example, polystyrene foam) are acceptable for contact with food products, which allows it to be widely used as food packaging and for disposable tableware(however, the consumer should be informed about the dangers of heating it).

That's whytarget our work: to study the properties of polystyrene foam and check its quality.

Item our research foam.Object research into the properties and quality of polystyrene foam.

Hypothesis: Not all foam plastic used in human life is of good quality.

We used the followingresearch methods :

Surveys and questionnaires.

Analysis of the obtained data.

Experiment.

The research was carried out on the basis of the Budgetary educational institution of the city of Omsk “General secondary school No. 49”.

Theoretical part.

Foam plastic -environmentally friendly,a composite material that consists of a solid organic polymer and gas bubbles. Most of The volume of material is occupied by gas, so the foam is actually hardened foam. Thanks to this structure, the foam has a very low density and has good thermal insulation, sound insulation, and shockproof properties. Polystyrene foam is very easy to process; unlike wood, it is resistant to bacteria and algae. Polystyrene foam is widely used as insulation in construction and as packaging material. Foam plasticdoes not have a high density (50 times lower than that of water), but, nevertheless, it shows excellent resistance to uniform mechanical loads, both tensile and compressive. Polystyrene foam can withstand pressure for years without deforming, collapsing or changing its properties. physical properties. A clear illustration can be its widespread use in the construction of runways. The strength indicator largely depends on the thickness polystyrene foam board and from following the rules for its installation.Foams can be obtained from almost all common polymers that are used to produce plastics. An example is polyurethane foams, polyvinyl chloride foams, phenol-formaldehyde and urea-formaldehyde foams. However, polystyrene foam is most widely used. In everyday life, the word “foam plastic” most often means expanded polystyrene. In particular, polystyrene foam is placed inside cardboard packages with household appliances to protect products from shock during transportation.

Expanded polystyrene was patented in 1920-30 and gradually became used for external thermal insulation of buildings. Later, they began to make ready-made blocks from expanded polystyrene into which concrete was poured.

In addition to its undeniable advantages, polystyrene foam also has a number of disadvantages. Like most common synthetic polymers, polystyrene foam has limited durability and is a fire hazard. Polystyrene foam can easily catch fire even from a match; the material burns, releasing a significant amount of heat and producing thick black smoke. Moreover: polystyrene is used in some modern varieties napalm. These unpleasant properties of polystyrene foam must be taken into account during construction. Foams approved for use in construction and packaging are not toxic materials; some types (for example, polystyrene foam) are acceptable for contact with food, which allows them to be widely used as food packaging and for disposable tableware (however, the consumer should be informed about the danger of heating it). Foam plastics are extremely lightweight materials, making them quite easy to install, lay and fasten, but handling can become difficult in gusts of wind and during transportation. The ease of processing using any auxiliary tools, including a saw, knife, etc., should not interfere with dangerous delusion. Foam is easy to cut hot wire, however, this requires compliance with safety rules (work must be performed on outdoors or in ventilated areas). easily destroyed under the influence of many technical liquids (benzene, dichloroethane, acetone) and their vapors, which should be taken into account, including when choosing paint and varnish materials in construction and finishing.1.1. What does polystyrene foam dissolve and not dissolve in?

IN household glue is often required repair work. Purchasing the necessary product in construction stores Not always pleased with the price-quality ratio. It’s easier and more reliable to make homemade foam glue. A simple recipe will reveal little secrets: how and with what to dissolve the foam to create a viscous adhesive mass.

We do it ourselves: quickly and inexpensively

Using homemade glue

Before you start preparing a homemade product, you need to understand what objects can be glued together and what materials it is not suitable for.

Connecting only rigid objects will be successful, since the adhesive mass hardens, increasing the strength of the product. Seal the crack in rubber boot, flexible at the break, homemade remedy it won't work.

The peculiarity of using glue is the limited time of its use - 10-15 minutes after preparation, later the quality of the adhesive mass decreases.

Therefore, the product is required in cases of small and urgent work:

• sealing fiberboard joints;
• repair of floors, tile or slate roofs;
• gluing furniture, baseboards, interior items;
• basement waterproofing;
• fastening cornices;
• insulation of loggias, balconies, ceilings and floors, foundations, walls with extruded polystyrene foam.

Garage owners garden houses, private houses will more than once be helped out in the household by simple and quick-to-prepare homemade glue instead of expensive casein and carpentry glue.

Required materials

Making a homemade adhesive requires only two main ingredients: foam and an organic solvent.

Two main ingredients: foam and solvent

Foam plastic

Thrifty owners know where they can always find various pieces of foam:

• in packaging boxes from modern devices– used as an anti-shock agent during transportation;
• leftovers sheet material(trimmings or crumbs) used as insulation in the process of finishing the premises;
• old foam trays, plates, cups - were widely used in the past.

Packaging and containers made of polystyrene foam

• pour the solvent into the required volume of the adhesive mass;
• put crushed pieces of polystyrene foam or granules in a volume three times larger than the solvent;
• stir gently to remove released gases;
• add pieces of foam or solvent if necessary.

The adhesive mass is ready for use when it becomes homogeneous, the consistency resembles thick jelly, and stops emitting gases.

The pieces dissolve completely

Gluing the parts must begin immediately. The mass is applied with a brush. After drying, the adhesive joints resemble glass.

The second method differs in that the ingredients are combined directly at the site of sealing the gap. The procedure is as follows:

• pour crushed polystyrene foam into the crack, the recess that needs to be sealed;
• moisten with a solvent - gasoline or acetone;
• distribute the melted mass evenly over the surface of the area to be repaired.

Sealing cracks using the second method is characterized by a high degree of sealing; it is often used when working with roofing material, gluing roofing felt.

It is important to pre-prepare enough foam to form a viscous adhesive mass. If the composition turns out to be liquid, gluing will be ineffective.

Drying of the glue lasts 1.5-2 days, depending on the thickness of the layer.

Safety rules

The use of foam glue requires compliance with fire safety rules, because the mixture ignites quickly and burns for a long time. Even a lit match can cause a fire. When heated, the mass releases a significant amount of heat and produces thick black smoke.

Roof repair with foam glue

The method of preparing glue from materials that can be found in any home is practical and simple. Compliance simple rules will help you safely, quickly and inexpensively carry out routine repair work.

Due to numerous requests in the comments to my videos, today I will try to make a composition of polystyrene foam and solvents for application to concrete. I would like to see how it will behave, because car owners are interested in cheap varnish to cover the garage against dampness.

Gasoline and foam

I'll start by dissolving the foam in gasoline. I should also check it in acetone and solvent, but I think that acetone dries too quickly. I pour 92 gasoline into a clean, empty metal can. You will need a little more than half the can of gasoline.
I cut a piece of polystyrene foam approximately 1500 mm long and 40 mm thick into strips and lower them one by one into a jar of gasoline. The width of the strip should be chosen according to the size of the can. My goal is to see how the resulting composition will behave on concrete (I don’t need a lot of varnish). The foam easily fits into the jar, melts and compresses into a fairly dense lump at the bottom.

Note: This will cause the gasoline to bubble and splash out of the can.
The resulting composition has the appearance of a gel and is similar to napalm (when ignited, it immediately flares up, burns for a long time, and the flame is high). It is not possible to regulate the viscosity of the composition by adding gasoline - it reaches a certain thickness and the process stops there. I leave the jar for a while so that the air bubbles come out and all the pieces of foam dissolve.

Covering the concrete floor

I take out the gel-like mass from the bottom of the jar and transfer it to another container. Plot concrete slab I clean it with a wire brush and blow it off with a spray gun. I prepared a brush and a spatula for work, which I lightly greased with oil. This will prevent the varnish from sticking.
It turned out to be more convenient to work with a spatula.

I pour the varnish onto the concrete and use a spatula to apply it to the surface using movements in different directions. After finishing the job, there is practically nothing left on the spatula. When applying the varnish, you immediately smell the smell of gasoline. I leave this area for about an hour to dry.

Dissolving polystyrene foam in xylene

I will conduct the second experiment with xylene (one liter costs 110 rubles). If you cover the entire garage with this composition, then its cost will be 2.5 times more expensive than polystyrene foam varnish dissolved in gasoline. To dissolve in xylene, I chose the denser and more expensive fine-grained foam from which the protection is made system unit computer.

When xylene is added to the jar, the foam dissolves almost completely, the viscosity of the composition becomes less, and the thick lump disappears. A composition of this viscosity can be applied in a much thinner layer. It looks like xylene is better for making foam varnish.
Note: I was also advised to use solvent 647, but I didn’t have it on hand.
I'll try using xylene as a wood varnish. I take a branch peeled from bark walnut and apply a thin layer of composition with a brush. It turns out very well, but you have to wait for the varnish to dry.

I also apply a layer of the composition onto the concrete with a brush. The layer turns out to be very thin and there are no air bubbles in it. I leave it to dry.
My first section did not dry completely within an hour - a film with a very strong appearance formed on the surface. a large number bubbles.

Huge bubbles formed on the sides. To the touch it looks like the well-known packaging film with bubbles. However, as an option, this composition can be used after complete drying.

The area covered with xylene varnish turned out better. The composition is well absorbed into the surface of the concrete and looks like real varnish. The only negative is the high cost of xylene compared to gasoline.

To reduce the cost, you can first dissolve the foam in gasoline, and only then add xylene and achieve the desired viscosity. It will be inexpensive to prepare a composition based on bottled xylene, which is sold in cans and costs less.
Note: the composition dried on wood in 10 minutes and is indistinguishable from real varnish. In the future, for an experiment, I can take a machine-polished board from a nearby furniture shop and apply 3-4 layers of xylene varnish to it.

Adhesive compositions can be used in a variety of situations, so many are faced with the problem of not having such compositions in the house. One solution is to create glue from polystyrene foam. He is able to connect quite tightly various items, therefore it can even be used to seal old roofs.

Where can foam adhesive be used?

The glue described is often created when there is no glue in the house or it runs out at the most inopportune moment. This substance can also be used in case of sudden occurrence cracks in roofing material.

Some owners of houses and apartments use the described glue to fasten interior items. For example, this composition can be used to securely fix a cornice on the ceiling. This will reduce work time. After hardening, the composition reliably holds the connected elements together, so you don’t have to worry about them starting to separate over time.

Often this glue is used when installing materials such as extruded polystyrene foam. It is also usually used when securing ceiling plinth or gluing furniture.

How to make glue

Creating glue is quite simple:

1. First you need to find a solvent and pour it into a small container. The size of the container depends on the amount of glue you are going to receive.
2. Solvent must be poured into the container. Many people use gasoline to produce glue from the described material.
3. After this, it remains to lower the material into the solvent until a viscous substance is formed in the container.

This composition is suitable for fastening various parts and after hardening it holds them securely long time.

You can use a brush to apply glue. For example, such compositions are often used for coating damaged areas roofing or joints of roofing material. After hardening, the material dissolved in gasoline resembles glass.

There is another way to create the described adhesive composition. To prepare the substance, some homeowners place crushed foam in the area that needs to be covered with glue. After this, it is wetted with gasoline or another solvent. As a result, the material melts and is evenly distributed over the surface. The composition quickly fills all cracks, thanks to which it reliably seals them.

An example is the work of sealing cracks in roofing material. Often glue is used to fill cracks in slate. It can also be used to seal roofing felt joints.

Before you make glue, you need to make sure that you have prepared a sufficient amount of material. If there is not enough material, the composition will be too liquid and will not be suitable for gluing anything.

Features of the composition

When making glue from foam plastic, it is necessary to follow safety rules and carry out all work away from open flames, since such a mixture not only ignites well, but also burns for a long time.

The glue must be well mixed, because if it is not uniform, the objects being glued may not be securely connected to each other. Foam glue can be used to join various materials.

Some people use similar compositions as protective coating. But the consistency of such a composition should be more liquid. Creating adhesive composition made of polystyrene foam and gasoline, you must remember that it hardens after a few days. The thicker the applied layer, the longer it takes to dry.

Typically, such glue is used when there is no adhesive on hand or it runs out at the wrong time. Some people use various plastic products instead of foam. For example, table tennis balls or disposable cups. To make it more convenient to work with the material, you need to cut it into small pieces or crumble it in advance.

To make the glue dry faster, you should choose acetone solvents for its preparation. After hardening, the composition is able to withstand both low and high temperature. That is why they can be used to seal cracks in the roof and not worry about them starting to leak moisture again.

What type of foam can be used to create glue?

Foam plastic is a group of materials that are foamed masses. Most often they are used for thermal insulation of premises. Depending on the production method, they are divided into 3 main types:

1. Pressless. Such products look like a lot of interlocking balls. When such products are physically impacted, the balls are easily separated from each other and the product begins to crumble. This type Styrofoam is most often used to create adhesives. It easily dissolves in gasoline and acetone and turns into a stretchy mass.
2. Pressed. This foam is more durable and does not crumble like the previous type. This is explained by the fact that during production the products are pressed.
3. Extrusion. This material has a more uniform structure, since during production the temperature of the products increases. The result is foam plastic, which has a solid structure.

You can also use granulated foam to create glue. But before you make glue from the described material, you need to try to dissolve different types foam in gasoline. Some products melt worse, so you should not prepare only one type of material in advance. It is most convenient to use granular foam.

To make glue from foam plastic without harming your own health, it is necessary to carry out work outdoors or in a room in which the windows are completely open. If this rule is not followed, gasoline vapor poisoning may occur.

Thus, with a small amount of polystyrene foam and solvent it is easy to make a reliable adhesive that can even be used to seal the roof. But in order for the resulting composition to last for a long time, it is important to make it in such a way that it is viscosity and homogeneity.