A strong soy protein-based adhesive with excellent water retention

Traditional synthetic resin adhesives release harmful substances and can be replaced with more sustainable, ecofriendly, and healthier soy protein-based adhesives. However, the low water retention of these adhesives leads to an unstable bonding performance, which hampers their widespread application. Enhancing the water retention of the adhesive while maintaining its bonding and coating performance poses a significant challenge. In this work, a "bond-stitch" topology was designed and constructed by free radical copolymerization between acrylic acid and zwitterionic sulfobetaine methacrylate. This topology was combined with lithium chloride and a selfmade epoxy crosslinking agent to construct a water-retaining and enhancing structure in soy protein adhesive systems, achieving simultaneous improvement in water retention, bonding strength, and coating performance. The adhesive exhibited an average shear strength of 1.77 MPa for wood and 1.82 MPa for stainless steel. Additionally, the coating performance was significantly improved, allowing uniform coating on wet poplar veneers (up to 120% moisture content) and low surface free energy substrates. Importantly, the adhesive allowing over 75% of the mass to remain after 24 h of storage in an open environment. This strong water-retaining and enhancing structure construction strategy offers a promising way to develop bio-based adhesives and hydrogels, promoting their widely application.