Advanced experimental tools are needed to study modified wood across the cellular and subcellular length scales. We recently developed tools to study wood and the effects of cell wall modification by PF resin and moisture at these small size scales. In this talk, the utility of these tools will be demonstrated by studying model bondlines in wood made using a phenol formaldehyde adhesive. The wood-adhesive bondline is extraordinarily difficult to study given the porosity of wood and the multiple length scales over which many potential interactions can occur between the wood and adhesive to enhance or degrade the bond performance. Synchrotron-based micro X-ray fluorescence microscopy (µXFM) and micro X-ray computed tomography (µXCT) are used to map the penetration of adhesive into the wood anatomical structure. Nanoindentation has been developed into a tool capable of assessing the effects of moisture and adhesive infiltration on wood cell wall mechanical properties. Using custom-built <i>in situ </i>humidity chambers with µXCT and small angle neutron scattering (SANS), the moisture-induced swelling in wood was studied across the cellular and subcellular length scales in bondlines spanning from the millimeters to nanometers. The new insights these tools provide towards understanding moisture-durability in wood adhesive bondlines will be discussed. Finally, a new model to aid in the discussion of chemical modifications at the wood nanostructure will be presented.

Integrating multi-scale studies of chemically modified wood

2019 Fall National Meeting

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