Eco-friendly materials need "green" fire-retardancy treatments, which offer opportunity for new wood nanotechnologies. Balsa wood (Ochroma pyramidale) was delignified to form a hierarchically structured and nanoporous scaffold mainly composed of cellulose nanofibrils. This nanocellulosic wood scaffold was impregnated with colloidal montmorillonite clay to form a nanostructured wood hybrid with high flame-retardancy. The nanoporous scaffold was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and gas adsorption. Flame-retardancy was evaluated by cone calorimetry, whereas thermal and thermo-oxidative stabilities were assessed by thermogravimetry. The location of well-distributed clay nanoplatelets inside the cell walls was confirmed by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. This unique nanostructure dramatically increased the thermal stability because of thermal insulation, oxygen depletion, and catalytic charring effects. A coherent organic/inorganic charred residue was formed during combustion, leading to a strongly reduced heat release rate peak and reduced smoke generation.
Keywords: biocomposite; inorganic hybrid; layered silicate; nanocellulose; nanocomposite; nanostructured; wood nanotechnology.