Xiaoqian Bi¹, Pengfei Guan¹, Ping Li^2,*, Yuan Zhang¹, Xingong Li¹, Yingfeng Zuo^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.11, No.5, pp. 2399-2415, 2023, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2023.026656

Abstract Sodium silicate modification can improve the overall performance of wood. The modification process has a great influence on the properties of modified wood. In this study, a new method was introduced to analyze the wood modification process, and the properties of modified wood were studied. Poplar wood was modified with sodium silicate by vacuum-pressure impregnation. After screening using single-factor experiments, an orthogonal experiment was carried out with solution concentration, impregnation time, impregnation pressure, and the cycle times as experimental factors. The modified poplar with the best properties was selected by fuzzy mathematics and characterized by SEM, FT-IR, XRD and TG.… More > Graphic Abstract

Pengfei Guan¹, Ping Li², Yiqiang Wu¹, Xingong Li¹, Guangming Yuan¹, Yingfeng Zuo^1,*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.10, No.9, pp. 2451-2463, 2022, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2022.020459

Abstract To enhance mechanical properties and improve flame retardancy and smoke suppression of fast-growing poplar wood in wood applications, the wood was impregnated and modified. An organic phenolic prepolymer and inorganic sodium silicate was used as contrasting impregnation modifiers and wood samples were impregnated by a bionic “respiration” method with alternating positive and negative pressure. The weight percentage gain, density increase ratio, mechanical properties (bending and compressive strength and hardness), and water absorption rate of inorganic and organic-impregnated modified poplar wood (IIMPW and OIMPW, respectively) were compared and these properties in IIMPW were found to be higher than those of OIMPW… More >