Ethyl 2 Cyanoacrylate reaction with Sodium Bicarbonate

Question

I saw on youtube that adding baking soda to super glue which was most of the time ethyl 2 cyanoacrylate seemed to make a really strong bond so i searched on google why that was and turns out that the baking soda provides ions to start a chain reaction which quickly makes the glue harden.Anyways I tried it myself.

It worked.But here is what i don't understand,there were white fumes when i did it.I didn't see any in the videos but those fumes were not easily visible when i did it so maybe they didn't just show up on the camera.I haven't been able to find on google why that is so i hopped onto here.

So i would really appreciate if someone could tell me the exact chemical reaction that takes place and what exactly are those fumes.All i found on google is that they are noxious fumes.

Answer 1

I think the fumes are from the heat that is produced during the polymerization process. Within those fumes could be contained cyanoacrylate(s) but this is not supposed to be harmful, especially in the small amounts produced.

The mechanism probably involves what is referred to as "anion polymerization" which is a type of polymerization in which there is an anion which triggers the transfer of a charge to a monomer (cyanoacrylate), which then becomes active and it goes on to react with other monomers to eventually form a polymer. If you want detailed info on the mechanism per se, I suggest you try googling "Mechanism of anion polymerization".