Colocasia esculenta leaf bio-wax as a wood surface coating substance for preparing hydrophobic wood

Abstract

Waterproof coating is essential in the construction industry to prevent the fast degradation of construction materials. Wood is commonly used in construction and has hydrophilic properties that may result in disintegrating adhesive bonds that can cause structural failure. This study encompasses the use of Colocasia esculenta leaf bio-wax as a hydrophobic surface coating substance for preparing hydrophobic wood. Taro, Colocasia esculenta, leaves are abundant in nature and have superhydrophobic properties; that’s why the researchers utilize its wax content for developing a hydrophobic wood coating substance. Soxhlet extraction and simple distillation were used to extract the wax, with n-hexane as the solvent. Wood specimens from ordinary, marine, and premier plywood were dip coated and cured for seven (7) days. Static water contact angle test results showed that all coated wood specimens attained hydrophobicity with an average water contact angle of 95.54 ̊ ± 1.91 ̊, 105.71 ̊ ± 2.33 ̊, and 95.33 ̊ ± 1.75 ̊, respectively. It also evaluates the water absorption of the coated and uncoated wood specimens where the coating was found to effectively reduce the water absorbency of the wood. Heat tolerance tests were also conducted at temperatures ranging from 30 ̊C to 90 ̊C. Uncoated wood specimens increased their water contact angle after heat treatment but did not gain hydrophobicity. Coated wood specimens remained at their respective hydrophobic levels after the heat treatment. Hence, the bio-wax of Colocasia esculenta leaves is effective for making the wood surface hydrophobic.