Effect of glycidyl methacrylate on the physical properties of wood-polymer composites

Chemical modification of pinewood was carried out by impregnating the wood with styrene as the impregnating monomer and in combination with a crosslinking monomer glycidyl methacrylate (GMA). Polymerization was carried out by catalyst heat treatment. Dimensional stability in terms of antiswell efficiency was determined and improved on treatment with polymer. Water uptake percentage was also improved for styrene-GMA treated wood samples over styrene treated or untreated wood samples. Mechanical properties such as bending strength measured in terms of modulus of elasticity and modulus of rupture of polymer-treated samples showed an improvement over untreated ones. Treatment also resulted an improvement in compressive strengths. Thermal properties of the wood samples were evaluated by thermogravimetric analyzer and differential scanning calorimeter. Biodegradability of the treated and untreated wood samples was determined and improvement was obtained on treatment. As a whole, styreneGMA treated wood samples showed more improvement over untreated or styrene-treated samples.