A new analytical approach to investigate the influence of wood extracts on the curing properties of phenol-resorcinol–formaldehyde (PRF) adhesives

In this study, the interactions between a phenol–formaldehyde resorcinol (PRF) adhesive and water-extractable wood constituents were investigated using combined in-situ FTIR spectroscopy and rheology analysis for a simultaneous examination of the progress of chemical reactions and coherent changes in rheological properties during adhesive curing. Complementary evolved gas analysis and pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (Py-GC/MS) were performed to detect differences in the final crosslinking and chemical composition of the cured adhesive, respectively. The rheological and chemical analysis results correlated with the tensile shear strength of wood-PRF assemblies. The results showed that adhesive curing was significantly affected by the presence of acidic wood extractives. In particular, the acidic extractives of chestnut wood led to a delay in the resin curing and less final crosslinking of the cured adhesive. This was most likely caused by a reduction in the catalytic effect of the base-catalyzed curing of the adhesive rather than by direct chemical reactions between the extracts and adhesive. These findings can be useful for adapting the resin formulation to the chemistry of acidic wood species.