Termite resistance of TMSAC or TMSAH added wood-inorganic composites prepared by the sol-gel process

Abstract

Antimicrobial SiO2 wood-inorganic composites with 3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl dimethyl octadecyl ammonium chloride (TMSAC) or 3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl (carboxymethyl) decylmethyl ammonium hydroxide inner salt (TMSAH) were prepared by the sol-gel process. The obtained TMSAC-Si02 or TMSAH-Si02 composites were studied on their termite resistance to both Reticulitermes speratus (Kolbe) and Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki. Although TMSAC-Si02 composites could not attain the enhanced property in termite resistance, TMSAH-SiO2 only with at most 10% in weight percent gain revealed such a high termite resistance as the treated wood with boric acid which is well-known as a wood preservative against termites.