Wood is, without a doubt, a good building and decorative material, but its use is associated with a lot of not the most pleasant moments, from the cost and harm to the environment due to massive deforestation and ending with a high fire hazard. However, a group of Chinese researchers have created material that solves all of the above problems at once.
"Synthetic" wood externally and at the microscopic level resembles the fibers of a real tree, having similar properties: strength, ability to retain heat, and so on, but in addition to everything, it is resistant to high temperatures and acids. According to Science Advances, a team of employees of the Hefei National Laboratory of Physical Sciences is responsible for the development. The main material is a synthetic polymer that crystallizes on a polymer matrix, bonding with other components to form a wood-like structure.
Scheme for the manufacture of wood based on polymers.
The experts used resole and melamine-formaldehyde resins, as well as a mixture of aromatic substances, of which 30% consists of hardwood and coniferous wood. At the same time, replacing auxiliary components, you can also change the color and other properties of the finished material. To create a "synthetic" tree, scientists placed the above-mentioned resins in an aqueous solution, chitosan and acetic acid.
Polymer structure of "artificial" wood.
After that, everything was transferred to a copper container with liquid nitrogen, which allowed the substances to build a matrix from elongated channels. Then produced a vacuum drying and allowed the material to harden at a temperature of 200 degrees Celsius. The resulting material showed resistance to fire, corrosive acids, and compression of 45 MPa. Moreover, the effect of water does not destroy the structure of the new material, but only slightly reduces its mechanical properties.
Vladimir Kuznetsov