title: Functional lignocellulosic materials prepared by ATRP from a wood scaffold.
abstract: Wood, a natural and abundant source of organic polymers, has been used as a scaffold to develop novel wood-polymer hybrid materials. Through a two-step surface-initiated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP), the porous wood structure can be effectively modified with polymer chains of various nature. In the present study, polystyrene and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) were used. As shown with various characterization techniques including confocal Raman microscopy, FTIR, and SEM/EDX, the native wood ultrastructure and features are retained and the polymer chains can be introduced deep within the wood, i.e. inside the wood cell walls. The physical properties of the new materials have been studied, and results indicate that the insertion of polymer chains inside the wood cell wall alters the intrinsic properties of wood to yield a hybrid composite material with new functionalities. This approach to the functionalization of wood could lead to the fabrication of a new class of interesting functional materials and promote innovative utilizations of the renewable resource wood.
authors: Wood Materials Science, ETH Zürich, Stefano-Franscini-Platz 3, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland.|Applied Wood Materials, EMPA - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
authors: Etienne
authors: E
authors: Cabane
authors: Wood Materials Science, ETH Zürich, Stefano-Franscini-Platz 3, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland.|Applied Wood Materials, EMPA - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
authors: Tobias
authors: T
authors: Keplinger
authors: Applied Wood Materials, EMPA - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
authors: Tina
authors: T
authors: Künniger
authors: Wood Materials Science, ETH Zürich, Stefano-Franscini-Platz 3, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland.|Applied Wood Materials, EMPA - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
authors: Vivian
authors: V
authors: Merk
authors: Wood Materials Science, ETH Zürich, Stefano-Franscini-Platz 3, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland.|Applied Wood Materials, EMPA - Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
authors: Ingo
authors: I
authors: Burgert
mesh_terms: D000178:Acrylamides / Q000737:chemistry; D000180:Acrylic Resins / Q000737:chemistry; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000737:chemistry; D008031:Lignin / Q000737:chemistry*; D008422:Materials Testing; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D058105:Polymerization; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000737:chemistry; D016062:Porosity; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature; D014934:Wood / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000178:Acrylamides; D000180:Acrylic Resins; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011108:Polymers; D011137:Polystyrenes; C036909:lignocellulose; C052970:poly-N-isopropylacrylamide; D008031:Lignin; C067295:N-isopropylacrylamide