Polystyrene/wood composites and hydrophobic wood coatings from water-based hydrophilic-hydrophobic block copolymers

Abstract

The combination of synthetic thermoplastic polymers and wood is normally problematic because wood surfaces are hydrophilic while typical thermoplastic polymers are hydrophobic. A possible solution is to use block copolymer coupling agents. In this work we show the use of a potentially useful synthetic method of producing hydrophilic-hydrophobic block copolymers as hydrophobic coatings and coupling agents in polystyrene/wood flour composites.

Citation

Kosonen, Marja-Leena; Wang, Bo; Caneba, Gerard T.; Gardner, Douglas J.; Rials, Tim G. 2000. Polystyrene/wood composites and hydrophobic wood coatings from water-based hydrophilic-hydrophobic block copolymers. Clean Products and Processes 2:117-123