Studies on the Water Absorption of Bamboo-Epoxy Composites: The Effect of Silane Treatment

The effect of silane treatments on the water absorption properties of bamboo matting reinforced epoxy composites were investigated. Treatments using -Aminopropyltriethoxy silane, 3-trimethoxysilylpropyl methacrylate, Vinyltris(2-methoxyethoxy)silane, Bis[3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl] tetrasulfide, 3-aminopropyltrimethoxy silane and n-Octyltrimethoxy silane were carried out to study the water absorption property of the bamboo composites. Water absorption in the composites was studied by long-term immersion and 2h boiling in distilled water. The process of absorption of water was found to follow the kinetics and mechanism described by Fick's theory. Only aminosilanes have shown the positive effects, but to a limited degree. It has been found that among the various silanes used only aminopropyltriethoxy silane treatment is suitable for bamboo-epoxy composite. Aminopropyltriethoxy silane-treated bamboo fiber composite has decreased the water uptake from 41.42% to 36.87%.