Abstract: [Objective] Decay and cracks are the main factors which shorten the service life of oudoor wood. In this study, drug-loaded semi-interpenetrating network and in situ constructed in wood were investigated, in order to improve the decay resistance as well as the dimensional stability.[Method] Polyacrylate/polyethylene glycol(PAA/PEG) polymer alloy with semi-interpenetrating network (SIPN) structure was prepared by one-step polymerization. The relationship between the amount of crosslinker and polymer performance was then studied. The prepared SIPN polymer alloy was characterized by infrared spectroscopy(IR), scanning electron microscope(SEM) and transmission electron microscope(TEM).Populus tomentosa wood was impregnated with 0.5% propiconazole nanoemulsion, acrylic acid, PEG, initiator and crosslinker under vacuum, then in situ polymerized. The dimensional stability and decay resistance properties of wood were also measured. [Result] FTIR results showed that PAA and PEG formed strong H-bond, and the crosslinker might chemically connected them. SEM and TEM indicated that PEG was uniformly dispersed in PAA to form a phase-separate structure. An interpenetrated interface could be observed. Additionally, the dimensional stability tests of wood via three wet-dry cycles showed that the treated wood exhibited minor shrinkage and swelling. The decay resistances of drug-loaded SIPN were greatly improved. [Conclusion] Though the dimensional stability did not meet the expected results, this paper provided a new way to simultaneously improve the dimensional stability and fungi resistances.

Key words: drug-loaded semi-interpenetrating network, polyacrylate(PAA), polyethylene glycol(PEG), dimensional stability of wood, decay resistance