Contact: Nick Wilson

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D-Glue provides a solution to inexpensive dismantling of electronics, automotives, solar panels, drones and other products for repair, reuse and recycling

SAN LUIS OBISPO — An eco-friendly glue product created by a Cal Poly chemistry team in partnership with an East Coast research and development company has earned a national award as one of the top three innovations from the adhesive and sealant industry.

D-Glue — a debondable adhesive platform created by Cal Poly chemistry Professor Phil Costanzo in partnership with the Massachusetts-based Geisys Ventures — earned the second runner-up 2024 Innovation Award presented by the Adhesives and Sealants Council (ASC) in Louisville, Kentucky.

The third-place award was announced April 16 at the council’s Annual Convention and EXPO. ASC’s innovation awards are given to those who significantly impact chemistries “that contribute to downstream industries’ unmet needs and advancements in technology.”

Contest participants include raw material suppliers, manufacturers and academics focused on adhesives and/or sealants.

D-Glue was designed with Cal Poly student research and development involvement over the past few years and now is a patented, commercial product.

The product has applications for uses in industries including electronics, apparel, automotive and solar, making it far more convenient and cost-effective to repair, reuse and recycle manufactured products because of the adhesive's ability to be broken down more easily than many mainstream glue products.

“To be recognized by industry is a major accomplishment,” Costanzo said. “To launch this idea from the benchtop to a position to now enter the real word is exciting and helps validate our process. We’re helping to solve actual problems with practical, applicable solutions.”

Kris Stokes, CEO of Geisys Ventures, collaborated with the Cal Poly researchers to design and usher D-Glue to market, creating the adhesive using a sequence of bonds that link one polymer chain to another, referred to as Diels-Alder linkages.

Extreme heat is typically required to separate recyclable materials from the commonly used glues currently in use, and often separation cost is prohibitive, discouraging reclamation that saves waste and reduces environmental pollution.

D-Glue is designed to be broken apart at lower temperatures, requiring much less energy, while maintaining the integrity of the item.

“The fact that ASC recognizes our product as an impactful industry innovation underscores how important debondable adhesives are for the circular economy and for extending the life cycle of materials and products that we all routinely use, from computers and cell phones to shoes and jackets,” Stokes said. “We are thrilled to receive this recognition by industry peers and advance awareness of our goal to distribute D-Glue broadly to make a positive environmental impact in the marketplace.”

For more information on 2024 ASC Innovation Awards submissions, visit: https://issuu.com/ascouncil/docs/2024_asc_innovation_awards_submissions.

About Cal Poly’s Bailey College of Science and Mathematics

The Bailey College of Science and Mathematics, home to about 2,800 undergraduate and 280 graduate students, offers degrees in biology, chemistry, kinesiology and public health, physics, mathematics, statistics, marine science, microbiology and biochemistry. The college also houses the university’s undergraduate Liberal Studies program for future teachers and Cal Poly’s post-baccalaureate School of Education. Bailey College embraces Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing mission and is an esteemed institution, noted for outstanding undergraduate research and significant student co-authorship participation on scientific journal publications.

Top photo: Cal Poly chemistry Professor Phil Costanzo, center, works with students Ryan Donnelly and Sophia Newcomer on debondable glue research at a Cal Poly laboratory.