Recent Advances in Lignin-Based Wood Adhesives: Curing Behavior and Water Resistance
- 1National-Provincial Joint Engineering Research Center of Biomaterials for Machinery Package, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
- 2Aica Nanjing Co., Ltd., Nanjing 210047, China
Abstract
Lignin is a renewable aromatic feedstock for wood adhesives, but its structural heterogeneity complicates control over curing and water resistance. This review examines how lignin structure and functionalization govern curing reactions, kinetics, and crosslinked network development in lignin-based wood adhesives, and how these processes relate to bondline formation and wet bonding performance. Across condensation, epoxy, and polyurethane-based systems, molecular weight, aromatic condensation, and reactive-site accessibility influence lignin incorporation into polymer networks. However, chemical conversion, gelation, and effective network formation do not necessarily proceed in parallel; adhesive flow, penetration, and wood moisture further affect bondline development. Although crosslinking can reduce swelling and improve wet strength, faster curing or higher reactivity does not invariably yield better water resistance. The wet performance of wood joints also depends on network chemical stability, residual hydrophilic groups, interfacial bonding, and moisture-induced deformation and damage. Comparisons among studies remain limited by differences in lignin feedstocks, processing conditions, and water-exposure protocols. Future research should link curing kinetics, network architecture, moisture response, and interfacial failure under controlled testing conditions to establish verifiable structure–property relationships and guide formulation and processing.
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BibTeX
@article{ma2026recent,
title = {{Recent Advances in Lignin-Based Wood Adhesives: Curing Behavior and Water Resistance}},
author = {Yan Ma and Qian Zhang and Zhichao Lou},
journal = {Polymers},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3390/polym18212718},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2718},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Recent Advances in Lignin-Based Wood Adhesives: Curing Behavior and Water Resistance
AU - Yan Ma
AU - Qian Zhang
AU - Zhichao Lou
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/02
JO - Polymers
DO - 10.3390/polym18212718
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2718
AB - Lignin is a renewable aromatic feedstock for wood adhesives, but its structural heterogeneity complicates control over curing and water resistance. This review examines how lignin structure and functionalization govern curing reactions, kinetics, and crosslinked network development in lignin-based wood adhesives, and how these processes relate to bondline formation and wet bonding performance. Across condensation, epoxy, and polyurethane-based systems, molecular weight, aromatic condensation, and reactive-site accessibility influence lignin incorporation into polymer networks. However, chemical conversion, gelation, and effective network formation do not necessarily proceed in parallel; adhesive flow, penetration, and wood moisture further affect bondline development. Although crosslinking can reduce swelling and improve wet strength, faster curing or higher reactivity does not invariably yield better water resistance. The wet performance of wood joints also depends on network chemical stability, residual hydrophilic groups, interfacial bonding, and moisture-induced deformation and damage. Comparisons among studies remain limited by differences in lignin feedstocks, processing conditions, and water-exposure protocols. Future research should link curing kinetics, network architecture, moisture response, and interfacial failure under controlled testing conditions to establish verifiable structure–property relationships and guide formulation and processing.
SN - 2073-4360
ER -