What makes super glue so super?
It’s no surprise that this actually happens — probably more often than you might think. Super glue definitely deserves its name — a 1-square-inch bond can hold more than a ton. So, what if find yourself in a super-sticky situation? The main ingredient in Super glue is cyanoacrylate (C5H5NO2, for you chemistry buffs). Cyanoacrylate is an acrylic resin that cures (forms its strongest bond) almost instantly. The only trigger it requires is the hydroxyl ions in water, which is convenient since virtually any object you might wish to glue will have at least trace amounts of water on its surface. Air also contains water in the form of humidity. White glues, such as Elmer’s, bond by solvent evaporation. The solvent in Elmer’s all-purpose school glue is water. When the water evaporates, the polyvinylacetate latex that has spread into a material’s crevices forms a flexible bond
