Effects of Photoinitiators on Curing Performance of Wood Wax Oil Coating on Wood

With the increasing shortage of petroleum resources and the growing seriousness of environmental pollution, the exploitation and application of bio-based coatings derived from renewable resources have become increasingly important for the woodworking industry. Wood wax oil (WWO) is a new type of bio-based natural coating material that offers an eco-friendly solution for wood protection. This paper focused on the utilization of tung oil and beeswax as the primary raw materials for the preparation of wood wax oil. The WWO was based on the oxidation polymerization of tung oil, which served as the foundation for the preparation process. The effects of the photoinitiator TPO-L on the curing performance of the WWO were investigated, and the curing mechanism of the WWO system induced by photoinitiators was analyzed and characterized by infrared spectroscopy. Through ultraviolet irradiation experiments and coating quality tests, the effects of incremental photoinitiators on the properties of the surface drying time, gloss, color, hydrophobicity, and solution resistance of the treated ash wood were studied. The results indicated that the addition of photoinitiators was beneficial for the rapid polymerization of wood wax oil. A UV light intensity of 30 w was found to be sufficient to initiate the curing process. Specifically, when using TPO-L as the initiator at a concentration of 3 wt%, the surface could be surface-dried within 10 min under UV exposure. Under these curing conditions, wood wax oil coatings based on tung oil with comprehensive curing properties can be obtained. Additionally, adding 6% beeswax to the tung oil can effectively enhance the hydrophobicity of pure tung-oil-based wood protective coatings.