Integration of branched amine and dialdehyde cellulose to produce high-performance bio-based wood adhesive

Rational design of environmentally friendly and sustainable bio-based wood adhesives is of great significance to people's health, environmental protection, high value-added utilization of crop resources and national economic development. In this work, we develop new cellulose-based wood adhesives and explore the differences in the spatial structure of branched polyamines and linear binary amines after cross-linking with dialdehyde cellulose (DAC). The bio-based wood adhesives DAC-2N (adhesives obtained from the reaction of DAC with diethylenetriamine) and DAC-3N (adhesives obtained from the reaction of DAC with tris(2-aminoethyl)amine) are prepared by the cross-linking reaction between DAC and linear amines (2 N)/branched amines (3 N). The effects of spatial cross-linking degree, mass ratio of amine to DAC and solid content of adhesives on the bonding performance are systematically studied, and the mechanical properties of wood specimens are also tested by universal mechanical tests. Results show that the best formulation of DAC adhesive is a 1:1 mass ratio of DAC to 3 N, and the optimal solid content is 40%. Compared with the pristine DAC adhesive, the dry bonding strength of the DAC-3N adhesive increased by 103% from 1.35 MPa to 2.74 MPa, and the wet bonding strength increased from 0 MPa to 1.81 MPa. DAC-3N adhesive with dense network structure has stronger glue and water-proof properties than DAC-2N adhesive, and the shear strength test of the three plywood shows the failure mode of the substrate rather than the failure mode of bonding or cohesion. Therefore, this study might offer a prospective strategy for future research, especially the rational design and potential application of bio-based adhesives with branched structure.