High‐performance imitation precious wood from low‐cost poplar wood via high‐rate permeability of phenolic resins

Abstract

Precious wood has high performances, but has limited availability, increasingly rising cost, and requires a long growth cycle. Imitation precious wood was prepared from low‐cost and fast‐growing poplar wood using the method of wood polymer composites (WPCs). Poplar wood was impregnated with phenol formaldehyde (PF) resins in the presence of surfactants as osmotic agents to achieve efficient PF permeability. The effects of formaldehyde/phenol (F/P) molar ratio, surfactant type, and surfactant amount on the performances of PF resins and the modified woods were investigated in detail. The wetting process of PF resins on wood surface and its molecular weight distribution were observed by contact angle measurement and matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization‐time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOF‐MS), respectively. The physical and mechanical properties of the resultant WPCs were also evaluated. The poplar wood treated with PF‐DTAB‐0.8% resin (F/P = 1.6) exhibited lower viscosity (23.9 mPa s), lower molecular distribution and better permeability. The weight percent gains (WPG) of the treated material reached 104.82%, and its hardness reached 66.86 shore D. overall, this approach has the potential to make a wood product that can partially substitute for precious wood. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:2431–2440, 2018. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers