Wood modification with tricine

The applicability of amino acid tricine has been investigated for the modification of solid wood. Oak, walnut, cherry, and birch wood lamella were impregnated with a tricine solution and subjected to a drying process. The interaction between tricine and wood components was analyzed by attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and the reactions only with hemicelluloses were detected. Xylosylamine structures were found among the reaction products of xylose and tricine, and solid oak wood also showed this type of reaction. The equilibrium moisture content of the modified wood decreased, and this finding was interpreted as an indication of a modification of the polysaccharides. The hardness and tensile strength of the tricine-modified lamellae increased significantly. The change of the physical properties is probably due to the low moisture content with increased hydrogen bonding between wood cell wall components. A crystalline layer of tricine on the cell walls was observed by means of electron microscopy.