This study aimed to improve the flame-retardant properties of laminated bamboo lumber (LBL) using phosphorus-nitrogen-boron flame retardants (FRs). The combination of a 7:3 ratio of monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and boric acid/borax compounds (SBX), and 74.32 kg/m 3 of FRs (10.3% weight gain), exhibited enhanced fireproofing performance for LBL materials. A commercial flame retardant (guanylurea phosphate) (GUP) was systematically studied as a comparison. A cone calorimeter and a thermal analyzer were used to characterize the combustion behavior and thermal stability, respectively. The flame retardants morphology in bamboo cell cavities was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and an energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA). The results showed that at a heat flux of 50 kW/m 2 , the heat release rate and the total heat release of LBL samples treated with MAP-SBX flame retardants decreased more considerably than that of the untreated samples. The use of MAP-SBX not only promoted carbonization of LBL greatly but also indicated a good performance of smoke and combustion suppression as well as for the GUP. Flame retardants were confirmed to penetrate into the cell cavities of the bamboo using SEM and EDXA.

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The use of bamboo charcoal (BC) was investigated as a filler in bambooplastic composites (BPCs) to achieve improved water resistance, physical-mechanical properties, and reduced hydrophilicity. The influence of the BC content and size on the water absorption, contact angle, density, and mechanical properties of bamboo flour/low-density polyethylene (LDPE) composites was tested. Scanning electron microscopy was used to analyse fractured and flat composite surfaces. The results indicated that the BC increased water resistance, achieving optimal results at 8% content. The BC particles that ranged in size from 60 to 100 mesh were more water-resistant than other sized BC. The water contact angle increased with an increase in the BC content or a decrease in the particle size. These results indicated that BC reduced the composite hydrophilicity and that the smaller BC particles improved this effect. The BC strongly connected with the LDPE composites, and the BC contents below 12% improved the flexural properties and increased the density of the BPCs. Also, the impact strength of the BPCs decreased dramatically with a decrease in the BC particle size. These results demonstrated that the integration of BC with BPCs resulted in strengthened water resistance and physical-mechanical properties and reduced hydrophilicity. Bamboo and Rattan and Technology of State Forestry Administration, Beijing, China, 100102; b: Sichuan Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of Wood Industry and Furniture Engineering, Chengdu, China, 611130; * Corresponding author: qindc@icbr.ac.cn Keywords INTRODUCTIONBamboo is an important natural resource that grows faster than trees and is stronger than wood (Jiang 2007). Bamboo-plastic composites (BPCs) are manufactured via hot pressing and extrusion or injection moulding using thermoplastics and bamboo instead of wood (Yeh et al. 2009;Wu et al. 2013). BPCs are widely used in decorations, outdoors, and as non-structural components of buildings (Xian et al. 2015) because they are biodegradable, renewable, and environmentally friendly materials (Zhou et al. 2015a). However, the interface between the polar, hydrophilic bamboo fibres and the non-polar, hydrophobic low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is weak, which leads to the formation of many gaps and pores between the two materials. This incompatibility results in poor mechanical properties and renders the composites vulnerable to water penetration and fungal attack (Hosseinihashemi et al. 2011;Mbarek et al. 2013). Bamboo fibre processing (Li et al. 2013) and coupling agent addition (Tran et al. 2013) are widely used PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE bioresources.com Chen et al. (2016). "Bamboo/PE composites," BioResources 11(4), 9986-10001. 9987techniques for improving the compatibility of plant fibres and polymers. Another method of eliminating gaps is filler addition, which is a simple and low-cost way to effectively improve the composite morphology and mechanical properties. Nanofillers (Deka and Maji 2012), glass fibres (Zolfaghari et al. 2013), and carb...

One dimensional (1-D) micro-/nanostructures provide a good system to investigate the dependence of various properties on dimensionality and size reduction, especially in optoelectronic field. Organic conjugates including small molecules and polymers exhibit good optoelectronic properties and are apt to assemble into ordered nanostructures with well-defined shapes, tunable sizes and defect-free structures. In this review, we focus on recent progress of 1-D organic semiconductors for waveguide applications. Fabrication methods and materials of 1-D organic semiconductors are introduced. The morphology influence on the properties is also summarized.