An environmentally friendly and high wet-bond strength adhesive based on starch, itaconic acid and silicone

A novel approach is proposed to solve the problem of the starch adhesive’s low strength in humid environment. Herein, silicone and itaconic acid were grafted with native starch, and then the starch-based adhesive (IA-M/B-OSt) was obtained with a high wet-bond strength and environmentally friendly. Subsequently, the IA-M/B-OSt adhesive was applied in plywood processing, and the plywood turned out to have strong bonding strength even after soaking in hot water at 63 ℃ for 3 h. The results of SEM, FT-IR, Confocal Raman and 1H NMR confirmed that grafting reactions occurred between silicone and starch. Hot-pressing was necessary for the application of IA-M/B-OSt adhesive, which facilitated the transformation of Si-OH into Si-O-Si and achieved high wet-bond strength. This study provides a simple and efficient approach for preparing starch based adhesive, and opens up a new way for applying biomass materials in the green and sustainable adhesive industry.