Mid-infrared spectroscopy and dynamic mechanical analysis of heat-treated obeche (Triplochiton scleroxylon)wood

Abstract

The chemical structure change and rheological behaviour of heat-treated Obeche (Triplochiton scleroxylon) wood were investigated. Wood samples were treated at 160 and 200°C for 30, 60 and 120 minutes. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) were employed to characterize the chemical structure and rheological property of the heat-treated wood, respectively. Infrared data showed that there was a reduction in the number of hydroxyl groups (one of the factors normally attributed to water absorption) of heat treated wood relative to the control samples. The relative cellulose crystallinity increased slightly which may be one of the factors contributing to the stiffness of the heat-treated wood. The latter increases with increasing treatment temperature and time. The rheological properties of the wood samples were tested while submerged in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone solvent under saturated conditions. DMA results showed that the increasing heat treatment time caused an increase in the glass transition temperature relative to the control sample, irrespective of the treatment temperature. Therefore, heat treatment at moderately high temperatures (160 and 200 °C) showed an interesting potential which could be used to reduce water absorption and improve flexural modulus of Obeche wood.

Effects of Ageing on the Color and Surface Chemistry of Paulownia Wood (P. elongata) from Fast Growing Crops

“…Infrared spectra are sensitive indicators of chemical changes, especially light-induced natural and accelerated ageing (Colom et al 2003;Pandey 2005;Pandey and Vuorinen 2008;Chang et al 2010a,b;Roşu et al 2010;Tolvaj et al 2013). Moreover, chemical changes in thermally treated wood revealed by FTIR (Tdjeersma and Militz 2005;Esteves et al 2013;Chen et al 2014;Tolvaj et al 2014b;Fabiyi and Ogunleye 2015) may be helpful in understanding temperature-induced ageing (Matsuo et al 2011).…”

Thermal analysis of Oriental beech wood treated with some borates as fire retardants

“…Among the construction materials which are used by people wood holds a special place because of its impressive range of attractive properties, including low thermal extension, low density, and high enough mechanical strength (Bektha and Niemz 2003, Fabiyi and Ogunleye 2015, Elaieb et al 2015. However, wood and wood composites being a carbon based material can burn when subjected to flame source or direct heat in suitable conditions (Yalinkilic et al 1998).…”

Physical and mechanical properties of juvenile wood from Neolamarckia cadamba planted in west Malaysia

“…A study showed that thermal modified of 5, 9 yr-old Eucalyptus grandis wood had improved dimensional stability and elasticity properties (Calonego et al 2012). Heat treatment at two different temperatures (160 and 200 °C) of Obeche (Triplochiton scleroxylon) wood gave the lower the number of hydroxyl groups and the higher the relative crystallinity index, which would result in improving the dimensional stability and stiffness (Fabiyi andOgunleye 2015, Korkut andAytin 2015). Modification treatment by ammonia and steam of beech densified the wood and enhance its modulus of elasticity and hardness properties as compared to the native beech (Pařil et al 2014).…”