Photocurable resin/microcrystalline cellulose composites for wood protection: Physical-mechanical characterization

• Wood protective coatings based on a photoresin filled with MCC were developed.
• An extended microstructural and physic-mechanical characterization was performed.
• MCC increased the physical and mechanical properties of the neat photoresin.

Photocurable composites based on a UV-light curable methacrylic-siloxane resin formulation and various concentrations (5 ÷ 20 wt%) of microcrystalline cellulose powder (MCC) were prepared and characterized to assess their suitability as protective coatings for wooden artworks. Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis highlighted that MCC promoted an enhancement of both storage and loss moduli and a decrease of the thermal expansion coefficient. Interestingly, the flexure elastic modulus and the flexure maximum stress of the neat photoresin increased upon the filler addition without any embrittling effect. An increment of hydrophobicity (contact angle), surface hardness (Shore D and pencil scratch tests) of the neat UV-light cured matrix even at the lowest filler loading was observed. These promising results suggest that the photo-curable microcomposites could be able to recover the mechanical and physical properties of damaged wood and replace the traditional resins soluble in toxic solvents utilized in this kind of restoration works.

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