Electromagnetic shielding and fire-retardant wood obtained by in situ aniline polymerization

Abstract

Abstract In living spaces where wood has been used as a construction and decorative material, reducing the electromagnetic pollution and fire risk is important. Herein, wood was treated in situ with aniline, and the effects of the treatment on its electromagnetic shielding and fire retardant performance were investigated. The in situ polymerization and deposition of polyaniline particles in the wood cell walls induced the treated wood with enhanced conductivity with porous wood structures, which could improve the microwave absorption. The results indicated that the electromagnetic shielding efficiency increases with the decrease of wood density and the increase of porosity, and the specific electromagnetic shielding efficiency up to 65.8 dB cm-3 g-1 on the cross sections of treated wood. Furthermore, the total heat release and smoke production decreased by 43.6% and 64.2%, respectively. The wood char mass increased by 53.9%. The results demonstrated that polyaniline-treated wood with bifunctional features could serve as a promising candidate in this field.