Enhancing Thermal, Mechanical, and Chemical Performance of Bio-based Polyurethane Adhesives: The Role of Pentaerythritol Crosslinking in Castor and Soybean Oil Polyols
Category
Sciences and Technology
Department
Material Science
Student Status
Graduate
Research Advisor
Dr. Ram Gupta
Document Type
Event
Location
Student Center Ballroom
Start Date
10-4-2025 2:00 PM
End Date
10-4-2025 4:00 PM
Description
Wood adhesives play a crucial role in construction and manufacturing, but traditional adhesives often rely on environmentally harmful synthetic materials. This project explores a sustainable alternative by synthesizing bio-based adhesives derived from castor oil polyols (COP) and soybean oil polyols (SOP). The goal is to develop an eco-friendly adhesive that offers enhanced bonding strength, thermal stability, and chemical resistance. Incorporating pentaerythritol as a crosslinker increases hydroxyl group availability, resulting in higher crosslinking density. This improvement enhances adhesive strength and thermal stability through the formation of a more rigid polymer network. Tensile strength testing revealed that SOP at 5 wt.% exhibited the highest room-temperature tensile strength (6.14 MPa), while COP at 5 wt.% achieved 5.05 MPa. At 90C, SOP at 10 wt.% retained a tensile strength of 4.73 MPa, outperforming COP at 5 wt.% (4.52 MPa), demonstrating superior high-temperature performance for SOP-based adhesives. The research methodology involves synthesizing polyols from renewable plant oils via epoxidation and ring-opening reactions, followed by their conversion into adhesives using methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) and pentaerythritol. FT-IR spectroscopy and tensile strength testing were used to evaluate adhesive performance under varying weight percentages and temperatures. To further validate properties, additional tests-including thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), gel swelling tests, and water contact angle measurements- will assess thermal stability, crosslinking density, solvent resistance, and surface hydrophobicity. By developing high-performance bio-based adhesives, this study advances sustainable material innovation, reducing reliance on petroleum-based products while providing durable and robust wood bonding solutions.
Enhancing Thermal, Mechanical, and Chemical Performance of Bio-based Polyurethane Adhesives: The Role of Pentaerythritol Crosslinking in Castor and Soybean Oil Polyols
Student Center Ballroom
Wood adhesives play a crucial role in construction and manufacturing, but traditional adhesives often rely on environmentally harmful synthetic materials. This project explores a sustainable alternative by synthesizing bio-based adhesives derived from castor oil polyols (COP) and soybean oil polyols (SOP). The goal is to develop an eco-friendly adhesive that offers enhanced bonding strength, thermal stability, and chemical resistance. Incorporating pentaerythritol as a crosslinker increases hydroxyl group availability, resulting in higher crosslinking density. This improvement enhances adhesive strength and thermal stability through the formation of a more rigid polymer network. Tensile strength testing revealed that SOP at 5 wt.% exhibited the highest room-temperature tensile strength (6.14 MPa), while COP at 5 wt.% achieved 5.05 MPa. At 90C, SOP at 10 wt.% retained a tensile strength of 4.73 MPa, outperforming COP at 5 wt.% (4.52 MPa), demonstrating superior high-temperature performance for SOP-based adhesives. The research methodology involves synthesizing polyols from renewable plant oils via epoxidation and ring-opening reactions, followed by their conversion into adhesives using methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) and pentaerythritol. FT-IR spectroscopy and tensile strength testing were used to evaluate adhesive performance under varying weight percentages and temperatures. To further validate properties, additional tests-including thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), gel swelling tests, and water contact angle measurements- will assess thermal stability, crosslinking density, solvent resistance, and surface hydrophobicity. By developing high-performance bio-based adhesives, this study advances sustainable material innovation, reducing reliance on petroleum-based products while providing durable and robust wood bonding solutions.
