Acetylation and in situ polymerization are two typical chemical modifications that are used to improve the dimensional stability of bamboo. In this work, the combination of chemical modification of vinyl acetate (VA) acetylation and methyl methacrylate (MMA) in situ polymerization of bamboo was employed. Performances of the treated bamboo were evaluated in terms of dimensional stability, wettability, thermal stability, chemical structure, and dynamic mechanical properties. Results show that the performances (dimensional stability, thermal stability, and wettability) of bamboo that was prepared via the combined pretreatment of VA and MMA (VA/MMA-B) were better than those of raw bamboo, VA single-treated bamboo (VA-B), and MMA single-treated bamboo (MMA-B). According to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses, VA and MMA were mainly grafted onto the surface of the cell wall or in the bamboo cell lumen. The antiswelling efficiency and contact angle of VA/MMA-B increased to maximum values of 40.71% and 107.1°, respectively. From thermogravimetric analysis (TG/DTG curves), the highest onset decomposition temperature (277 °C) was observed in VA/MMA-B. From DMA analysis, the storage modulus (E') of VA/MMA-B increased sharply from 15,057 Pa (untreated bamboo) to 17,909 Pa (single-treated bamboo), and the glass transition temperature was improved from 180 °C (raw bamboo) to 205 °C (single-treated bamboo).
Keywords: acetic anhydride; bamboo; chemical modification; dimensional stability; dynamic thermodynamic; methyl methacrylate.