Flame retardancy of wood treated by TiO₂/ZnO coating

Abstract

In this work, one-pot hydrothermal method was used for modifying a wood surface by the deposition of TiO₂/ZnO coating at a relatively low temperature. The prepared wood samples were characterised using SEM, energy dispersive X-ray analysis and powder X-ray diffraction. Results showed that wood surface was coated by anatase TiO₂ and würtzite structured ZnO at 110°C. To explore the flameproof properties of the modified wood, cone calorimetry technique was employed to measure the significant difference in combustion parameters between the untreated and the treated wood. As compared with the untreated wood sample, the time to ignition was 37 s, increasing about four times; the burning duration was around doubled, and smoke production rate and total smoke production were almost zero. As a result, the treated wood had an improved fire resistance, and one-pot hydrothermal method was a feasible method to fabricate non-flammable wood materials.

Keywords:

• Flame retardancy
• Anatase TiO₂
• ZnO
• Cone calorimetry
• Wood
• Hydrothermal method

This work was supported by the Breeding Plan of Excellent Doctoral Dissertation of Northeast Forestry University (grant no. GRAP09) and the Programme of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities of China (grant no. B08016).