Morphological, water absorption and thermal properties of hardwood- and softwood-urea formaldehyde resin composites

The aim of this research project was to prepare and compare the morphology of hardwood and softwood wood-urea formaldehyde resin composites and to compare hardwood and softwood urea formaldehyde resin composites with three commercial particleboard composites. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed the structure and the nature of hydrogen bonding. Differences in wood particle size and distribution were observed amongst the composites. Wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) revealed hardwood cellulose exhibited a higher crystallinity than softwood cellulose. WAXS showed that crystallinity of the composite decreased as the particle size decreased. Thermogravimetry revealed that superior thermal stability of composites confirmed their effective crosslinking and wood resin adhesion. Water absorption examination of each wood composite confirmed that smaller wood particle size and tightly-packed structure composite restricted the uptake of water.