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Silly Putty Project
Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2015 4:33 pm
by deleted-327187
In my project, I made two different solutions. One was 50% glue and the other 4% borax. In ratios with more of the glue solution added, the silly putty turned out better. Why was this so? Why does the putty turn out better with more of the glue solution than less of the borax solution?
Re: Silly Putty Project
Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2015 8:59 am
by norman40
Hello kcourville,
The glue that you used in your project contains a polymer (polyvinyl acetate) that can react with borax. The reaction results in another polymer in which the acetate portions of the poylvinyl acetate are linked together. I suspect that your examples with more glue in them had more of the acetate linkages due to the reaction with the borax. And more acetate linkages should make the silly putty more “rubbery” and less sticky.
I hope this helps. Please post again if you have more questions.
A. Norman