One-step treated wood by using natural source phytic acid and uracil for enhanced mechanical properties and flame retardancy

Wood has always maintained an important position in construction engineering and decoration due to its unique excellent characteristics, but its flammability has limited various application. In this study, phytic acid (PA) derived from plant seeds and uracil (U) derived from ribonucleic acid (RNA) were prepared as water solution, and natural wood just through physical infiltration in the water solution to obtain wood/PA/uracil (flame retardant [FR] wood), which was environmentally friendly, high strength and fire-resistant. The three-point bending test performance was basically unchanged, compressive strength was increased by 15.3%. The peak heat release rate, total heat release, smoke production rate, and total smoke production of FR wood were reduced up to 41%, 30%, 61%, 56%, respectively, compared with the natural wood. Limiting oxygen index value of FR wood can reach 31.8%, and UL-94 V-0 rating can be reached. These results suggested that wood/PA/uracil could be promising green construction applications.

Automated summary

By combining phytic acid and uracil with wood, this study successfully prepared flame retardant wood with environmentally friendly, high strength and fire-resistant properties. The flame retardant wood showed good performance in bending and compressive strength, with significant reductions in heat release rate and smoke production.