Abstract
This study describes the application of aluminum sulfate Al2(SO4)3, boric acid H3BO3, phosphoric acid H3PO4 (Al–B–P) and amphiprotic surfactant material synthesis by the sol-gel process, which were adopted as novel precursors for wood modification. The efficacy of Al–B–P-treated wood was tested against Poria placenta and Coriolus versicolor. Untreated wood samples had higher mass losses (>40%) compared to the treated sample, which had the lowest wood mass losses (of 4%) against P. placenta and C. versicolor. To analyze the reaction mechanism of Al–B–P wood, the mechanical properties, chemical structure, crystallinity, thermal analysis, binding energy and wettability was examined by modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. Scanning electron microscopy- energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) confirmed the wood colonization by fungi, and was used to identify the microstructures and morphologies changes that occurred in the cells during degradation by white and brown-rot fungi. At the same time, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was employed to analyze the physical and chemical properties of the samples. Therefore, the study confirmed that Al–B–P and amphiprotic surfactant could replace the traditional wood preservative products, and have the potential to extend the service life of wood, particularly in soil contact and outdoor usage.
Highlights
Wood is renewable by excellence and is an environmentally friendly material; as a biological material, it suffers to the same extent as many other natural materials, namely degradation, due to its composition and anatomical structure.The foremost problems are the facts that white-rot fungi use non-enzymatic and enzymatic systems to degrade all cell wall components [1]
More recently, studies conducted by Saka have been testing inorganic sol-gel, such as TiO2 and SiO2, which, combined with other reagents as Na2 OSiO2 gel, can be useful for wood preservation, and the study results showed that integrating inorganic compounds into the wood cavity wall can enhance the characteristics of the wood, such as against fungi and termites [10,11]
For the anti-fungal effectiveness of aluminum sulfate compounds (Al)–B–P and the amphiprotic surfactant, the evaluation was determined by 16 weeks exposure of specimens with different treatments concentration to the different white and brown-rot fungi C. versicolor and P. placenta, as well as under sterile control conditions, according to our previous report [28]
Summary
Wood is renewable by excellence and is an environmentally friendly material; as a biological material, it suffers to the same extent as many other natural materials, namely degradation, due to its composition and anatomical structure. The foremost problems are the facts that white-rot fungi use non-enzymatic and enzymatic systems to degrade all cell wall components [1]. Coriolus versicolor and Poria placenta fungi degrade wood in the crystalline region by cellulolytic and ligninolytic enzymes [2]. P. placenta fungi colonize wood by the sequential decomposition of lignin and cellulose using their extracellular enzyme system [3,4,5]. Wood decayed by P. placenta has been further chemically characterized by a number of β-xylosidases and endo-xylanases [2]. C. versicolor fungi are known to degrade polysaccharides efficiently [6]
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