cyanoacrylate

"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. Super glue, on the other hand, undergoes a process called **anionic polymerization**. The chemical process of __ [|polymerization] __ produces a certain amount of heat. If a large enough amount of super glue makes contact with your skin, it can actually cause burns. Cyanoacrylate molecules start linking up when they come into contact with water, and they whip around in chains to form a durable __ [|plastic] __ mesh. The glue thickens and hardens until the thrashing molecular strands can no longer move." Cyanoacrylates were developed in 1942 by Dr. Harry Coover and Fred Joyner Kodak Labratories during experiments to make a transparent plastic suitable for gun sights. Although not appropriate for the gun sights, they did find that cyanoacrylates would quickly glue together many materials with great strength. Seeing possibilities for a new adhesive, Kodak developed "Eastman #910" a few years later as the first true "super glue" Neer, Katherine. "What makes super glue so super?" 06 August 2001. HowStuffWorks.com.  15 April 2012.   