Mechanical Properties of Paulownia FORTUNEI Wood impregnated with Silver, Copper and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles

Mechanical properties are usually considered the most important characteristics of wood products for structural applications. Paulownia is known as a fast growing tree and can be used in several applications. This study was conducted to investigate effects of impregnation with silver, copper and zinc oxide aqueous nanofluids, with size range from 10 to 80 nm, on mechanical properties of Paulownia fortunei with dry density of 0.37 g cm-3. Specimens were impregnated with a 400 ppm aqueous suspension of nanosilver, nanocopper and nanozinc oxide at 2.5 bars in a pressure vessel for 20 min. Results showed that modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE) and compression strength parallel to the grain were significantly increased in all cases. The highest increase was observed in nanocopper-impregnated specimens. Cluster analysis clearly showed the similarity of nanosilver-impregnated specimens with control treatment. However, nanocopper and nanozinc oxide-impregnated specimens were clustered differently which may imply the formation of chemical bonds between wood cell structure and components with these nanoparticles.