Preparation of mechanical abrasion and corrosion resistant bulk highly hydrophobic material based on 3-D wood template

Abstract

Bulk highly hydrophobic wood (BH-wood) was successfully prepared by grafting long-chain alkyl groups onto wood cell walls via the ester linkage. The resulting wood showed lower surface free energy and favorably high hydrophobicity compared to non-treated wood. The microstructure and chemical composition of the control and treated wood were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), solid state ¹³C NMR, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The hydrophobic property of the wood was characterized according to contact angle (CA) measurements. The mechanical and chemical durability of the BH-wood were also evaluated. The results suggested that the BH-wood had low surface free energy microstructures extending throughout its whole volume, and possessed excellent mechanical abrasion and corrosion resistance. The self-cleaning property was also significantly improved in the BH-wood compared to the control.