Alumina as an Antifungal Agent for Pinus elliottii Wood

This work deals with the durability of a Pinus elliotti wood impregnated with alumina (Al(2)O(3)) particles. The samples were impregnated at three different Al(2)O(3) weight fractions (c.a. 0.1%, 0.3% and 0.5%) and were then exposed to two wood-rot fungi, namely white-rot fungus (Trametes versicolor) and brown-rot fungus (Gloeophyllum trabeum). Thermal and chemical characteristics were evaluated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermogravimetric (TG) analyses. The wood which incorporated 0.3 wt% of Al(2)O(3) presented a weight loss 91.5% smaller than the untreated wood after being exposed to the white-rot fungus. On the other hand, the highest effectiveness against the brown-rot fungus was reached by the wood treated with 5 wt% of Al(2)O(3), which presented a mass loss 91.6% smaller than that of the untreated pine wood. The Al(2)O(3)-treated woods presented higher antifungal resistances than the untreated ones in a way that: the higher the Al(2)O(3) content, the higher the thermal stability. In general, the impregnation of the Al(2)O(3) particles seems to be a promising treatment for wood protection against both studied wood-rot fungi. Additionally, both FT-IR and TG results were valuable tools to ascertain chemical changes ascribed to fungal decay.