Abstract
Modification of Quercus leucotricophora (Ql-raw) wood strips has been carried out by its grafting with acrylamide and methylmeth acrylate using CAN-HNO3 redox initiator system. Various reaction parameters such as time, pH, initiator, monomer concentration and temperature were optimized to attain the maximum percentage of grafting. 62% of maximum grafting was observed at these optimized parameters. The physiochemical properties of raw Ql-raw and grafted Quercus leucotricophora (Ql-g-poly(AA-co-MMA)) wood strips were studied in detail i.e., swelling behavior in diverse polar and non-polar solvents and resistance to acid and base attack. The antifungal behavior of Ql-raw and Ql-g-poly(AA-co-MMA) was also investigated. Ql-g-poly(AA-co-MMA) wood showed resistance toward acid and base attack as compare with the Ql-raw. The Ql-raw and Ql-g-poly(AA-co-MMA) wood were characterized by employing instrumental techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The SEM micrographs display the variance in surface morphology of Ql-raw and Ql-g-poly(AA-co-MMA) wood strips.