Towards novel wood-based materials: Chemical bonds between lignin-like model molecules and poly(furfuryl alcohol) studied by NMR

Abstract Wood modification with furfuryl alcohol is a non-toxic alternative to conventional preservation treatments. A process in which furfuryl alcohol polymerises in situ was previously proposed for chemical modification of wood. In the present work, liquid model systems were investigated using compounds that resemble repeating units of lignin to verify whether chemical bonds form between the furfuryl alcohol polymer and wood. Using different NMR spectroscopic techniques we confirmed that these model compounds do form covalent bonds with the polymerising polymer. The results indicate that the furan polymer grafts to lignin, supporting observations in similar studies performed with genuine wood materials.