Properties of Multilayer Transparent Bamboo Materials

Abstract

The objective of this study is to solve the shortcomings of the current transparent bamboo veneer with a small thickness and low light transmittance by means of lamination. The delignified bamboo templates were vacuum impregnated with an epoxy resin, and the impregnated bamboo templates were laminated with the same radial texture using the viscosity of the epoxy resin to obtain multilayer transparent bamboo (MLTB). The multilayer stacking method can greatly improve the optical and mechanical properties of transparent bamboo. The transparent bamboo with a thickness of 1.2 mm and the delignified bamboo with a volume fraction of 44.8% prepared by multilayer stacking exhibited an improved total optical transmissivity of up to 78.6%, while the highest transmittance of bamboo (0.9 mm thick) without multilayer stacking treatment was only 10.4%. Compared with the single-layer transparent bamboo with a thickness of 2.1 mm, the maximum tensile strength of the seven-layer transparent bamboo was 4 times that of the single-layer transparent bamboo. Therefore, MLTB can compensate to a certain extent for the low light transmission and poor mechanical properties of single-layer transparent bamboo. Overall, MLTB shows a richer and more layered texture, which has more esthetic value. It is a kind of natural transparent material with good light transmittance and excellent mechanical properties, which has a good development prospect as a structural material in the fields of construction, household, and electronic products.

A Multilayer Transparent Bamboo with Good Optical Properties and UV Shielding Prepared by Different Lamination Methods

“…The bamboo cell walls are destroyed after delignification, resulting in a significant reduction in mechanical properties as well. 49 The maximum tensile strength value of TB-A increases significantly, reaching 39.75 MPa after a transparent treatment. The maximum of TB-B also reaches 20.47 MPa.…”

“…One reason is that lignin is one of the components of plant cell walls that has the effect of improving mechanical properties. The bamboo cell walls are destroyed after delignification, resulting in a significant reduction in mechanical properties as well …”

Dimensionally Stable Delignified Bamboo Matrix Phase-Change Composite under Ambient Temperature for Indoor Thermal Regulation

“…After removing lignin, bamboo presents higher porosity, better defined channels, and a larger specific surface area compared with natural bamboo, and is an excellent candidate to stabilize PCMs. For obtaining perfect porous structure from bamboo, a variety of delignified methods have been exploited [ 15 , 16 , 17 ], among which the chemical treatment method is still the most effective for bamboo treatment due to its unique structure. Although the treatment with chemical reagent is not environmentally friendly, it is one step during the delignification process, and with subsequent steps proceeding, the final products are not toxic.…”

Green, Sustainable Architectural Bamboo with High Light Transmission and Excellent Electromagnetic Shielding as a Candidate for Energy-Saving Buildings

“…It is also challenging to prepare transparent bamboo of a certain thickness. To improve the thickness of transparent bamboo than in our previous study, we prepared transparent bamboo through multilayer superposition [ 45 , 46 ]. Through delignification and impregnation of bamboo sheets with epoxy resin, five layers of transparent bamboo (less than 1.5 mm) achieved a transmittance of 63%.…”