A review of the effects of wood preservative impregnation on adhesive bonding and joint performance

In recent times, mass timber products have encouraged renewed interest in wood as raw material for more sustainable building and construction. However, durability concerns due to wood susceptibility to biodegradation could curtail this interest. Hence, there is a need for more durable wood products in emerging structural applications including the use of preservative-treated wood for composite and mass timber products. This is particularly crucial in tropical and subtropical environments where wood products are highly vulnerable to biodeterioration. Unfortunately, preservation treatment often adversely affects other wood properties such as the surface adhesion characteristics and adhesive-bond performance. Therefore, this review focused on the adhesion characteristics of wood, the impact of preservative impregnation, and the resultant effect on adhesive-bond performance. The aim is to draw attention to the challenges with bonding preservative-treated wood, and possible areas for research targeting bonding improvements.