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Ability of metallic nano-particles to provide UV protection to wood surface: a preliminary experiment

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Abstract

The effects of various nano-particle types and sizes on color, wettability, and surface chemistry of radiata pine (Pinus radiata) sapwood samples were investigated over 6 weeks of outdoor exposure. Specimens were treated with 0.2% wt/wt water dispersions of zinc oxide (ZnO), titanium dioxide (TiO2), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), silica dioxide (SiO2), cerium dioxide (CeO2), and iron oxide (Fe2O3), and four nano-sizes of Fe2O3. Color changes during exposure were characterized by measuring CIE L*a*b* color parameters, surface wettability changes were assessed using water droplet contact angle, and chemical changes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Nano-particles protected wood from photo-discoloration to differing degrees with iron oxide providing the most effective and consistent protection. Smaller alpha Fe2O3 nano-particles provided better UV protection. Nano-particles did not reduce wettability of wood after UV exposure nor were they able to completely prevent lignin degradation. Zinc oxide nano-particles provided some cellulose and hemicellulose protection during UV exposure. Iron oxide nano-particles exhibited some potential for limiting degradation, but the differences were small and not significant from untreated controls. The results suggest that combinations of zinc and iron oxide might be useful for UV protection, and further trials are planned with these mixtures.

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Acknowledgments

The senior author expresses his gratitude to the China Scholarship Council (CSC) and the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) for the financial support for this research. We wish to thank Dr. Luis Yermán (University of Queensland) for his assistance with the FTIR analysis and Prof. Philip D. Evans (University of British Columbia) for his technical review and very helpful suggestions to improve the manuscript.

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  1. National Centre for Timber Durability and Design Life, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, QLD, 4556, Australia

    Tengfei Yi & Jeffrey J. Morrell

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  1. Tengfei Yi
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TY contributed to conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing, and visualization. JJM contributed to conceptualization, resources, writing—review and editing, and supervision.

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Correspondence to Tengfei Yi.

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Yi, T., Morrell, J.J. Ability of metallic nano-particles to provide UV protection to wood surface: a preliminary experiment. J Coat Technol Res 19, 1535–1550 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11998-022-00628-8

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