Abstract
The objective of this study is to investigate the microstructure, water permeability and the adhesion of waterborne coating on the flattened bamboo. The flattened bamboo was obtained by softening bamboo culm at 180 °C followed by compression. The microstructure and chemical component of flattened bamboo were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The adhesion and interface structure of waterborne coating onto flattened bamboo surface were also examined. The result indicated that the parenchyma cells in flattened bamboo were compressed, and starch in the parenchyma cell was extracted during the softening and flattening process in which the main chemical component did not change significantly. The water permeability of both flattened bamboo and bamboo culm is dependent on the direction: longitudinal direction > tangential direction > radial direction. However, the water permeability in all three directions in flattened bamboo was higher than those in the untreated bamboo. In addition, alkali dye solution was found to more easily permeate through the flattened bamboo when compared to acid dye solution, and the permeability varied depending on alkali dye or acid dye concentration. The adhesion of water-based polyurethane coating on the flattened bamboo can reach the second level.
Highlights
Bamboo, the fastest growing plant on earth, has attracted growing attention from both academia and industry because of excellent mechanical properties, beautiful color and special grain of bamboo
The parenchyma was compressed to a certain extent, and the starch in the parenchyma cells was extracted during the steam treatment (Fig. 5a, b)
Flattened bamboo was produced for improving the utilization ratio of tubular bamboo culm and widening the applications
Summary
The fastest growing plant on earth, has attracted growing attention from both academia and industry because of excellent mechanical properties, beautiful color and special grain of bamboo. There are 88 families and more than 1642 species of bamboo around the world, including 39 families and 837 species in China [1]. The area of bamboo forest in China is 20% of that around the world (more than 32 million hm2), and the output value of bamboo industry in China increased from about 7.13 billion US dollar in 2007 to 33.7 billion US dollar in 2017 [3]. The tubular shape with hollow and anisotropic structure of the bamboo culm still limits its practical. The apparatus and technology were not good enough at that time, especially the apparatus, which limited its industrial production.
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