Modification of wood with organic-inorganic hybrid silica sol

As a potential building material, fast-growing wood (such as poplar) is prone to easy combustion and has poor mechanical properties, which limit its application range. In order to improve the reinforcing effect of SiO 2 on poplar wood, we propose a method of immersing silica sol into wood smoothly. In this method, the sol and a non-ionic surfactant are first treated via organic-inorganic hybridization. This surfactant has a strong penetration effect, and the sol is introduced into the wood through hybridization. By impregnating the wood, the flexural strength and flexural modulus of elasticity increased by 79.7% and 89.5%, and the compressive strength along the grain increased by 105.1%. The total loss of fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene ether (JFC)-silica sol hybrid material treated wood was 78.95% lower and the time of the maximum heat release peak of the curve is 215 s, which is 50 s later than that of the control group. This method incorporates silica sol in wood via physical filling and chemical bonding, thereby improving the mechanical and fire resistance properties of wood as an outdoor building material.