Reinforcing effect of poly(furfuryl alcohol) in cellulose-based porous materials

Abstract

The mechanical reinforcement of porous materials made of microfibrillated cellulose by in situ polymerisation of furfuryl alcohol prior to freezedrying from aqueous slurry was studied. Besides a slight improvement in the modulus of elasticity measured in compression testing, no beneficial effects of furfuryl alcohol addition on porous materials produced from microfibrillated cellulose derived from bleached softwood pulp were observed. By contrast, when microfibrillated cellulose containing substantial amounts of residual non-cellulosic cell wall polymers, termed microfibrillated lignocellulose, was used, clear mechanical reinforcement effects due to furfuryl alcohol addition were measured. By means of SEM, significantly improved wetting of the cellulosic fibrillary architecture of porous materials with furfuryl alcohol was observed for microfibrillated lignocellulose compared to microfibrillated cellulose. It is proposed that the specific surface-chemical character of microfibrillated lignocellulose enables wetting of fibrils with furfuryl alcohol, thus providing micron fibre-reinforced structures with improved strength after in situ polymerisation. Besides mechanical properties, the density and thermal stability of cellulose-based porous materials were found to increase with increasing amounts of furfuryl alcohol added to the initial reaction slurry.

Modification of Wood by Tannin-Furfuryl Alcohol Resins–Effect on Dimensional Stability, Mechanical Properties and Decay Durability

“…Based on these results and since most of the modifications took place via electrophilic aromatic substitution, lignin could be the main wood component modified during treatments with FA and tannins, supporting the statement of a strong affinity of FA towards non-cellulosic cell wall constituents during polymerization [37,57,58]. Even if it remains difficult to certify SE Ar between tannins, lignin and furfuryl alcohol based on the FTIR analysis performed in this study, additional studies indicate the possibility of such reactions [59,60].…”

Facile Approach for Ecofriendly, Low-Cost, and Water-Resistant Paper Coatings via Palm Kernel Oil

“…As shown in Figure , the experimental results demonstrate that the coated paper has slightly higher tensile strength than uncoated papers, indicating a slight enhancement of its mechanical strength. This may be explained by the fact that the PKO and FA coating materials have penetrated the porous cellulose structures of the paper and the cross-linking between FA and cellulose can serve as a reinforcement of the paper in addition to a barrier for the water vapor …”

“…This may be explained by the fact that the PKO and FA coating materials have penetrated the porous cellulose structures of the paper and the cross-linking between FA and cellulose can serve as a reinforcement of the paper in addition to a barrier for the water vapor. 50…”

The Distribution and Polymerization Mechanism of Polyfurfuryl Alcohol (PFA) with Lignin in Furfurylated Wood

“…The thermograms (TGA) and derivatives of thermograms (DTA) are gathered in Figure 3b. The DTA curves showed that the main peak around 415 • C for PFA was attributed to the degradation of methylene and the furan ring in the PFA chain; the peak at 190 • C was owing to the volatiles that evolved during further condensation polymerization of the PFA resin [26]. MWL lost a little weight before 200 • C, mainly water molecules and some small molecule impurities in the sample, and its decomposition temperature range was mainly between 200 and 500 • C. The weight loss was faster at 302 and 369 • C, and the final carbon residue was 31%.…”