Wood decay resistance employing nanoparticle protective systems

Abstract

In this paper, nanoparticle dispersions (nanosilver, copper nano oxide, nanozinc and nanosilica) have been formulated to be used as protective impregnants. Since all the components of the formulations could be charged according to the pH of the medium, the solutions were formulated with the two profiles of pH=3 and pH=8 (pH changes were handled with the addition of HCl or NH4OH at the time of application) and the interaction capacity has been analyzed. The nanoparticle dispersions medium was alcohol and the concentrations ranged from 1 to 3% m/v. Impregnations have been performed by immersion. All formulated systems generated good protection against biotic agents due to chemical and structural modification of the cell wall. It has been observed that the best performances were given with the presence of nanoparticles, which allowed inferring that the composite formed by nano-wood is bioactive. An issue that is also important is that the systems are easy to apply, and very low concentrations are required, which translates into low costs.