Dynamic viscoelastic properties of wood acetylated with acetic anhydride solution of glucose pentaacetate

Spruce wood specimens were acetylated with acetic anhydride (AA) solutions of glucose pentaacetate (GPA), and their viscoelastic properties along the radial direction were compared to those of the untreated and the normally acetylated specimens at various relative humidities and temperatures. Higher concentrations of the GPA/ AA solution resulted in more swelling of wood when GPA was introducted into the wood cell wall. At room temperature the dynamic Young's modulus (E) of the acetylated wood was enhanced by 10% with the introduction of GPA, whereas its mechanical loss tangent (tan delta) remained almost unchanged. These changes were interpreted to be an antiplasticizing effect of the bulky GPA molecules in the wood cell wall. On heating in the absence of moisture, the GPA-acetylated wood exhibited a marked drop in E' and a clear tan delta peak above 150degreesC, whereas the E' and tan delta of the untreated wood were relatively stable up to 200degreesC. The tan delta peak of the GPA-acetylated wood shifted to lower temperatures with increasing GPA content, and there was no tan 6 peak due to the melting of GPA itself. Thus the marked thermal softening of the GPA-acetylated wood was attributed to the softening of wood components plasticized with GPA.