Eco-friendly antifungal coatings on wood
Researchers describe the development of an eco-friendly antifungal coating by curing natural seed oils on wood. All studied oil-based coatings inhibited the fungal growth.
Protective green coatings are advantageous because they are eco-friendly and sustainable. In a new study, three natural seed oils, tung, linseed and soybean, were used to investigate how coatings with different oil compositions could inhibit fungal growth.
Tung oil the most effective
The oil-coated samples were then placed on agar petri dishes that were spread with white-rot fungi. The areas of growth inhibition were measured over several days. The results showed that all oil-based coatings inhibited the fungal growth, with tung oil being the most effective followed by linseed and soybean oils.
By mixing with a small fraction of tung oil, both linseed and soybean oils showed curing rates at least two times faster than individual oils and demonstrated much better inhibition of growth against fungi. This class of green natural seed oil coatings could be beneficial both economically and socially, given their high abundance, low cost, and environmental friendliness.
The study has been published in Progress in Organic Coatings, Volume 161, December 2021.
