Self-supporting adhesive body for structural bonds

1. A composition comprising

at least one structural adhesive, and

at least one chemically crosslinked elastomer based on a silane-functional apolar polymer that is a reaction product of a silane and an apolar polymer, wherein the apolar polymer is a polyether in which a ratio of carbon atoms to oxygen atoms of monomers in the polyether is on average greater than 3:1, and the silane has epoxide groups and the apolar polymer has epoxide-reactive groups, or the silane has epoxide-reactive groups and the apolar polymer has epoxide groups.

2. The composition as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the chemically crosslinked elastomer is present as an interpenetrating polymer network in the structural adhesive.

3. The composition as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the silane-functional apolar polymer comprises silane groups of formula —R 4 —Si(OR 1 )(OR 2 )(OR 3 ) or —R 4 —SiR 1 (OR 2 )(OR 3 ), where:

R 1 , R 2 , and R 3 are alike or different and denote alkyl groups which optionally contain at least one ether function, and

R 4 is a linear or branched divalent hydrocarbyl radical having 1 to 12 carbon atoms and optionally one or more heteroatoms.

4. The composition as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the structural adhesive is a thermosetting epoxy resin composition comprising at least one epoxy resin and at least one hardener for epoxy resins which is activated by elevated temperature.

5. The composition as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the epoxy resin comprises diglycidyl ethers of Bisphenol-A.

6. The composition as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a fraction of the structural adhesive is in a range of from 50 to 85 wt %, and a fraction of the chemically crosslinked elastomer based on the silane-functional apolar polymer is in a range of from 15 to 50 wt %.

7. The composition as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the fraction of the structural adhesive is in a range of from 70 to 80 wt %, and the fraction of the chemically crosslinked elastomer is in a range of from 20 to 30 wt %.

8. The composition as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the chemically crosslinked elastomer has been obtained using an aminosilane as a crosslinking assistant.

9. The composition as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the apolar polymer is based on polybutylene glycol and/or poly(tetramethylene) glycol.

10. A method for producing an adhesive body composed of a composition as claimed in claim 1 , comprising

reacting the silane with the apolar polymer;

mixing the resulting silane-functional apolar polymer with the structural adhesive;

shaping the resulting mixture, optionally on a carrier or substrate; and

storing the shaped mixture under conditions under which the silane-functional apolar polymer crosslinks with water.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the silane-functional apolar polymer is crosslinked with water in the form of atmospheric moisture.

12. An adhesive body composed of a composition comprising:

at least one structural adhesive, and

at least one chemically crosslinked elastomer based on a silane-functional apolar polymer that is a reaction product of a silane and an apolar polymer,

wherein the apolar polymer is a polyether in which a ratio of carbon atoms to oxygen atoms of monomers in the polyether is on average greater than 3:1, and the silane has epoxide groups and the apolar polymer has epoxide-reactive groups, or the silane has epoxide-reactive groups and the apolar polymer has epoxide groups.

13. The adhesive body as claimed in claim 12 , wherein it has a thickness in a range of from 0.1 to 5 mm.

14. A method comprising joining two substrates with an adhesive body as claimed in claim 12 .

15. The method as claimed in claim 14 , comprising:

applying the adhesive body to a first substrate,

contacting the adhesive body on the first substrate with a second substrate, and

curing the adhesive body.