Self-healing Coating to Reduce Isothiazolinone (MCI/MI) Leaching from Preservative-treated Bamboo

A method was developed to reduce isothiazolinone (MCI/MI) leaching from treated bamboo, thereby extending the service life of bamboo. In this study, the self-healing coatings were prepared by incorporating 10 to 12 wt% microcapsules of urea-formaldehyde resin (UF)/tung oil into conventional polyurethane varnish and acrylate varnish. In the leaching test, the self-healing coatings outperformed the control coatings. Compared with the control coatings, the average leaching rates coated by the polyurethane and acrylate self-healing coatings were reduced by 6.22% and 6.29%, respectively. In impact damage and adhesion strength tests, the ability of the self-healing coatings to withstand damage was close to the control coatings. The results indicated that self-healing coating is a feasible method to reduce the leaching of MCI/MI from treated bamboo.