Mechanistic Study of the Synergistic Interaction of Furfuryl Alcohol and Caprolactam in the Modification of Pinus massoniana Earlywood and Latewood

Abstract

Furfurylated wood has many advantages, such as decay resistance, dimensional stability, hardness, etc. However, furfurylation increases the brittleness and decreases the flexural resistance of wood, which greatly limits its application. Therefore, caprolactam (CPL) is incorporated with furfuryl alcohol (FA) to improve the performance of furfurylated wood. In this study, an FA and CPL combinational modifier was used to treat masson pine (Pinus massoniana Lamb.) earlywood and latewood. The synergistic interaction of both components with the wood cell walls was systematically evaluated via microstructural, chemical, and thermal analysis using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The SEM images showed that polymerized modifiers were distributed in tracheids, ray cells, and pits, with a higher degree of distribution in latewood tissues. The FA-CPL co-treatment led to the highest degree of distribution in cell cavities as well as of cell wall swelling. The results of the weight percentage gain (WPG) of modified wood agreed with the SEM findings that the FA-CPL co-treatment could more effectively increase the WPG than individual modification. The results of FTIR and XPS revealed that FA and CPL might chemically bind with each other as well as react with lignin and hemicellulose in the cell walls during the curing process. In addition, the interactions between modifiers and cell walls were slightly different for earlywood and latewood. DSC analysis indicated that the wood hygroscopicity decreased and the thermal stability improved after modification.