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Abstract
Wood-polymer composites (WPC) of 13 different Malaysian tropical hardwoods and 10 vinyl monomers and mixtures of monomers were prepared by in situ polymerisation using gamma radiation or the catalyst-heat treatment.
The polymer loading achievable was found to be dependent on the wood species and the nature of the impregnated monomer. Low loadings were observed for the heavy hardwoods and for vinylidene chloride monomer. WPC showed improvement in termite and fungal resistance, dimensional stability and mechanical properties such as hardness, compression and static bending strengths. Thermal conductivities of WPC were found to be lower than the respective wood. From crib tests and oxygen indices, vinylidene chloride, bis(2-chloroethyl) vinyl phosphanate and bis (chloropropyl)-2-propene phosphonate were found to impart flame retarding properties to the WPC prepared. The dielectric constants of most of the WPC were marginally lower than that for the untreated wood.