Curing of wood treated with vinyl acetate-epoxidized linseed oil copolymer (VAc-ELO)

Scots pine sapwood was treated with a new formulation consisting of vinyl acetate (VAc) and epoxidized linseed oil (ELO) catalyzed by potassium persulfate to impart protection to wood. The effects of various curing temperatures, durations, and solution uptakes on dimensional stability (DS) and leachability were studied. The new formulation provided good anti-swelling efficiency (ASE) ranging from 35% to 47% with negligible leaching of the treating agent after four cycles of water soaking and oven drying (2%-2.5%). The extent of polymerization in wood was observed by FTIR-attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) by evaluation of the areas below typical IR bands as a function of curing temperature and time. Linear relationships were found with high R-2 values. The FTIR data of extracted samples were interpreted that chemical reactions took place between the resulting copolymer and wood components.