Effects of Combined Acid-alkali and Heat Treatment on the Physiochemical Structure of Moso Bamboo

To improve the performance of bamboo and increase its utilization value, this study aimed at investigating the effects of impregnation pretreatment and thermal treatment on the structural changes of bamboo. The samples were pretreated in sodium hydroxide or zinc chloride solution, and then treated at 160 degrees C. The pretreated and control samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results showed that the cellulose crystallinity and intensity of samples pretreated by ZnCl2 could be reduced, but the crystal structure remained the same. As for samples pretreated in NaOH, the crystal structure of fiber was destroyed and the crystallinity was increased significantly. High temperature treatment has little effect on the thermal stability of bamboo. However, after treatment with NaOH and ZnCl2, the thermal degradation temperature changed obviously and moved to a lower temperature. ZnCl2 pretreatment had influence on the chemical structure of bamboo, while NaOH pretreatment had greater influence on the chemical structure of bamboo.