Polystyrene/wood composites and hydrophobic wood coatings from water-based hydrophilic-hydrophobic block copolymers |
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Authors: | M L Kosonen B Wang G T Caneba D J Gardner T G Rials |
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Affiliation: | (1) Department of Chemical Engineering, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, USA, US;(2) Department of Forest Management and Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA, US;(3) USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, 2500 Shreveport Highway, Pineville, LA 71360–2009, USA, US |
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Abstract: | The combination of synthetic thermoplastic polymers and wood is normally problematic because wood surfaces are hydrophilic
while typical thermoplastic polymers are hydrophobic. A possible solution is to use block copolymer coupling agents. In this
work we show the use of a potentially useful synthetic method of producing hydrophilic-hydrophobic block copolymers as hydrophobic
coatings and coupling agents in polystyrene/wood flour composites. In particular, wood veneers are coated with water-based
emulsions of hydrophilic-hydrophobic block copolymers from styrene and methacrylic acid. Dried coated surfaces are shown to
become hydrophobic through dynamic contact angle measurements. When wood flour is coated with the hydrophilic-hydrophobic
block copolymer based on styrene and acrylic acid, significant improvement in the ultimate tensile properties of composites
formed from coated wood flour/polystyrene mixtures is realized. Since no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are used in coating
wood surfaces and subsequent composite production, improvement in mechanical properties of thermoplastic/wood flour composites
are shown to occur in environmentally responsible formulations.
Received: 13 May 1999 / Accepted: 5 February 2000 |
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