PROTECTION OF WOODEN MATERIALS AGAINST BIOLOGICAL ATTACK BY USING NANOTECHNOLOGY

Abstract

This article is focused on protection of wooden materials by using nanofibrous textiles with biocidal addition, which continues on the work of a group at the Center for Nanotechnology at the Faculty of Civil Engineering in the CTU. Timber is a natural material which is predisposed for biodegradation and therefore it is essential to study suitable and effective protection against microorganisms. Wood is a material susceptible to biological corrosion and therefore it is necessary to protect it. The study compares biocidal efficiency of polymer solution as a coating and as a layer from nanofiber textiles. We used polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a basic polymer which was enriched by substances from commercial Lignofix E – profi, solution of CuSO₄ · 5H₂O and AgNO₃ and finally colloidal silver as an example of nanoparticles. The final concentration of the biocidal substance was 1 (v/wt)% in fiber. The nanofiber textiles are produced on the device Nanospider NS LAB 500 (Elmarco, CR) on cylinder rotating electrode. The study was divided into two parts, the first being an agar plate test and the second a test on samples from timber. The mixture of mold was used as the model organism. (<em>Alternaria tenuissima, Pochonia bulbiosa, Trichoderma viride </em>and<em> Acremonium sclerotigenum</em>). Comparison of efficiency between the polymer paint and nanofiber textiles showed no difference. The best results were shown by PVA with an addition of substances from the commercial biocidal treatment Lignofix-E Profi on the agar plate. The difference of result was shown on timbre samples, finding that the best results were with treatment by PVA doped by Silver nitrate. The anticipated results were shown by treatment with non-doped PVA, which does not have any fungicidal protective effect.