Improvement of the bonding properties of cassava starch-based wood adhesives by using different types of acrylic ester

High performance of starch-based wood adhesives (SWAs) is important for their industrial applications. In this study, we designed and demonstrated the use of different types of acrylic ester for improving the bonding performance of SWAs. Results showed that the addition of acrylic ester as the co-monomer showed significantly the bonding capacity and hydrophobicity of SWAs. Furthermore, SWAs added hexyl acrylate could improve the shear strength to 11.23 MPa and 5.63 MPa in dry and wet states, respectively. Further analysis found that the improved bonding performance of SWAs could be attributed to the low minimum film-forming temperature, the enhanced the film-forming rate and the improved hydrophobicity by the addition of hexyl acrylate. These results offer a major development in the preparation of high-performance bio-based wood adhesives.