Alteration of the Surface Energy of Wood Using Lignin-(1-Phenylethene) Graft Copolymers

Abstract

Abstract Graft copolymers of lignin, made by free radical graft copolymerization of 1-phenylethene on lignin, increased the contact angle of water on birch wood (Betula papyrifera) and decreased the critical surface tension of the wood when coated onto the wood surface from an N, N-dimethylformamide solution. The coating of copolymer changed the wood from hydrophilic (∼50°) to hydrophobic (110°). The most pronounced change in contact angle was produced by benzene-soluble extracts of the reaction product. These extracts contained lignin with long poly(1-phenylethylene) sidechains and pure poly(1-phenylethylene). They produced surfaces with the numerically highest contact angles with water and changed the wetting behavior of the surface more than physical mixtures of lignin and poly(1-phenylethylene) or either of the pure polymers. Despite coating weights of less than 100 mg/cm, the critical surface tension of the birch wood coated with the various lignin-(1-phenylethylene) graft copolymers ranged from 26.9...