Islam, Md. Saiful and Hamdan, Sinin and Ahmad, Mansor and Hasan, Mahbub and Hassan, Azman and Mohamad Haafiz, M. K. and Jawaid, M.
(2014)
Effect of PVA-co-MMA Copolymer on the Physical, Mechanical,
and Thermal Properties of Tropical Wood Materials.
Advances in Materials Science and Engineering, 2014 (626850).
pp. 1-8.
ISSN 1687-8434
Abstract
The present study demonstrates the effect of copolymer on the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of tropical wood and
wood polymer composites (WPCs).Mixedmonomers ofmethylmethacrylate (MMA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)were effectively
impregnated into the cellular structure of several types of tropical wood, which then underwent a catalyst-thermal process to
polymerize and form WPC.The manufacturing of WPC was confirmed through Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy
and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis. The SEM observation showed that polymer converted from monomers filled
up wood cell cavities and tightly interacted with wood matrix.The X-ray diffraction results reveal that the degree of crystallinity
was significantly improved upon impregnation with PVA-co-MMA copolymer. The modulus of elasticity (MOE) and compressive
modulus were found to be significantly higher after treatment with MMA/PVA indicating improvement of mechanical properties
of the wood samples. In addition, the modifiedWPC had lower water absorption compared to their corresponding raw samples. It
is interesting to note that thermogravimetric (TGA) analysis shows an extensive improvement in thermal properties ofWPC.
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