Studies on swelling of wood with water and ionic liquids

Abstract

A recently developed simple method to qualitatively study the swelling behavior of polymeric gels is applied to swelling studies of wood with water and ionic liquids. Results are presented showing the differences between and the peculiarities of both kinds of swelling agents. In proof-of-principle experiments, it is shown that swelling of wood with ionic liquids allows the construction of long-lasting connections and joints.