Improvement of wood properties by impregnation with multifunctional monomers

Abstract

Southern pine samples with different dimensions and bulk densities were impregnated with the multifunctional monomer ethyl a-hydroxymethylacrylate (EHMA) and 5 mol % of fluorinated or nonfluorinated crosslinking agent. The maximum impregnation yield ( 105% by weight) was achieved under vacuum with good improvement of water repellency.Impregnation with EHMA plus another multifunctional monomer 2-vinyl-4,4-dimethyl-2-oxazolin-5-one (vinyl azlactone ) was carried out to improve the mechanical properties of wood samples. Water repellency was also improved depending on the amount of vinyl azlactone in the monomer solution. A maximum of 41% antiswell efficiency (ASE) was obtained by impregnation with a 9 : 1 w/w mixture of EHMA and vinyl azlactone. Improvements of 38-54% in impact strength and 27-44% in compression modulus were achieved depending on the relative amount of vinyl azlactone incorporated. FT-IR and solution or solid-state NMR spectroscopy were used for chemical characterization of the polymers themselves and the wood-polymer composites.

Comparison of the dimensional stabilities of oak and cedar wood preserved by in situ copolymerization of allyl glycidyl ether with acrylonitrile and methyl methacrylate

“…The dimensional stability of impregnated wood samples was evaluated with ASE (anti-swell efficiency, anti-shrink efficiency) and the values of percent volume change 14) . For the determination of ASE, the dimensions of the wood/(co)polymer composites and untreated wood samples before and after the beginning of their water uptake capacity were measured.…”

The Effects of Acrylate Impregnation of Black Spruce Timber as Connectors Strength

“…Compared to previous research, the aim of this study was to improve mechanical resistance of wood in the fastener area. Improvement of wood by increasing its water repellent properties, dimensional stability, or flame resistance was done by Mathias et al (1991), Hazarika et al (2012), Wang et al (2014), Cai et al (2007), Islam et al (2012), and Sun et al (2013). Furthermore, adding nanoparticles leads to better results, such as increase of hardness or dynamic Young's modulus (Cai et al 2007(Cai et al , 2008Shi et al 2007;Islam et al 2012).…”

Studies on dimensional stability and thermal properties of rubber wood chemically modified with styrene and glycidyl methacrylate

“…7 Crosslinking of material in wood samples provides better dimensional stability to the woodpolymer composite. 8 The problem of limited adhesion was extensively addressed in numerous reports on the effects of compatibilizers and coupling agents on the mechanical properties of composites.…”