Surface characterization of a series of cured polyurethane adhesives by inverse gas chromatography and adhesion strength testing of plywood

Inverse gas chromatography (IGC) was used to determine the surface properties of a series of polyurethane adhesives, A ₁, A ₂, A ₃ and A ₄ cured with water. The weight percentages of isocyanate group (NCO) in polyurethane adhesives were 5.3, 7.0, 13.0 and 19.6%, respectively. Four n-alkanes, C₆, C₇, C₈ and C₉ were chosen as non-polar probes to characterize the dispersive component of surface free energy, $ \gamma_{s}^{d} . $ Acetone, tetrahydrofuran and ethyl acetate were chosen as polar probes to detect the Lewis acid–base parameters, K _a and K _b. The trend of $ \gamma_{s}^{d} $ and K _a and K _b of the series of cured adhesives was also shown in this paper. The cured adhesives were all amphoteric, but predominantly Lewis basic. The adhesion strength of the poplar plywood bonded with polyurethane adhesives was tested. The results showed that the adhesion strength of plywood increased with increasing the NCO content of the adhesives and K _b/K _a of the cured adhesives.