Green Synthetic Xylan‐Based Antifungal Polymer for Wood Preservation

ABSTRACT Since commercially available metal ion antifungal agents face the problems of polluting the environment and endangering human health, the development of environmentally friendly antifungal agents has become a top priority. Xylan nanoparticles with an average particle size of 500 nm were extracted from a biomass resource, corn kernel, by secondary alkali treatment. Hyperbranched polymers with terminal hydroxyl groups (HBP‐OH) were synthesized using maleic anhydride and diethanolamine in a “one‐step melting method”. New reactive functional groups were introduced on the hydroxyl group of HBP‐OH by a quaternization reaction. The successful preparation of the quaternary ammonium cationic hyperbranched polymer (HBP‐L) was demonstrated by IR and 1 HNMR. Cross‐linking of HBP‐L with xylan nanoparticles via glutaraldehyde conferred new antifungal properties to the xylan nanoparticles. Infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic hydrogen spectroscopy proved the attachment of the polymer to the nanoparticles. The synthesized antifungal agent showed class I inhibition of both fungi, with weight loss reduced to 5%. The innovative application of modified nano‐xylan in wood provides new ideas for the commercialization of polysaccharide‐based antifungal agents.