Hybrid organic-inorganic materials as coatings for protecting wood

A new coating based on organic-inorganic materials was prepared using concurrent sol-gel and poly-merization techniques, and applied to wood using a dip coating method. Vinyl-functionalized zirconiumoxoclusters were co-polymerized with vinyltrimethoxysilane on wood. The coating process was exam-ined, also assessing the specific weight of hybrid polymer left on the wood after one or two coatingsteps. The efficacy of the process in consolidating and protecting the wood was investigated usinghigh-temperature differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), environmental scanning electron microscopy(ESEM), infrared spectroscopy and solid state NMR spectroscopy. The coating did not affect the morphol-ogy and appearance of the wood. However, it did modify its behavior on exposure to fire and preliminaryaccelerated biological tests with the brown rot fungus Coniophora puteana showing an improved resis-tance to the fungal attack.