Bonding strength and water resistance of starch-based wood adhesive improved by silica nanoparticles

Silica nanoparticles were used to improve the bonding capacity of renewable starch-based wood adhesive in this study. Compared with starch-based wood adhesive without silica nanoparticles, the bonding strength of starch-based wood adhesive with 10% of silica nanoparticles increased by 50.1% in dry state and 84.0% in wet state, while its water resistance increased by 20.2%. The improved performance of SiO2/starch-based wood adhesive was supported by its strengthened molecular structure, enhanced thermal stability, beneficial changes in rheological properties and fracture of starch-based adhesive bonded joints from the analysis results using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analyzer and rheometer. The improvement effect of silica nanoparticles on the structure and properties of the adhesive indicates that silica nanoparticles can be used to prepare environmentally friendly starch-based wood adhesive with high performance.