Study on cross-linking agent of a novel one-component API adhesive

The high reactivity and toxicity of isocyanates do not allow their storage and use in one-component system aqueous polymer isocyanate adhesives. Blocked isocyanates are a solution to protect the isocyanate groups by blocking with suitable blocking agent. In order to obtain eco-friendly systems and eliminate the effect of the organic solvents on environment, the blocked isocyanates can be dispersed in water by using external emulsifier by incorporating hydrophilic groups into the backbone. In this work, a series of waterborne blocked polyisocyanate dispersions were prepared by anionic modified process, using polyaryl polyisocyanate (PAPI), 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP), and dimethylol propionic acid. Particle sizes were measured and compared by laser particle sizer and scanning electron microscopy. The structures of aqueous dispersions were characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR, and results confirmed that the –NCO groups are effectively blocked by –OH groups. Thermal property was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry; then, kinetic parameters, ΔE, and n were deduced. It was found that the deblocking temperature of aqueous dispersion is about 55 °C. Hydrophilicity was characterized by measuring the water contact angles. The experimental results showed that the contact angle of solvent-borne solution is 68.6°, while that of aqueous dispersion is only 25.2°, which indicated that the hydrophilicity of waterborne TCP-blocked PAPI increases for the introduced hydrophilic group compared with solvent-borne TCP-blocked PAPI. The compressive shear strength was tested to evaluate wood bonding performance of the adhesive.