Multifunctional wood composites featuring synergistic flame retardant, smoke suppression, and superhydrophobic functionalities

To address the growing demand for fire safety in diverse scenarios, it is imperative to develop flame retardant wood with integrated properties such as moisture resistance, self-cleaning functionality, and enhanced weather durability. Wood was vacuum impregnated with biomass phytic acid (PA) and proteolytic product L-arginine (LA) to prepare a green flame retardant wood (PALA-Wood), and then SiO₂ nanoparticles were anchored to the flame retardant wood using 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane (PFDTES) modified Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to obtain a super hydrophobic, flame retardant, and smoke suppression wood (PALA@FPS-Wood). In comparison with natural wood (NW), the PALA@FPS-Wood demonstrated self-extinguishing characteristics in the vertical combustion test, achieved the UL-94 flammability grade V-0, and exhibited a reduction in total heat release and total smoke production by 48.80 % and 81.82 % respectively. Furthermore, the limiting oxygen index exhibited rising from 20.3 % to 58.1 %. The modified wood as evidenced by a water contact angle (WCA) of up to 155.6°. The super hydrophobic coating effectively isolates the flame retardant from the external environment, The modified wood exhibited excellent leaching resistance even after 14d of immersion in water. More importantly, it can withstand different adverse environmental conditions. Consequently, the findings of this research provide an effective method for the preparation of high weather resistance flame retardant wood materials with potential applications in both indoor and outdoor settings. • The material exhibited super hydrophobic, flame retardant and smoke suppression functionalities. • The modified wood has a leaching resistance of 85.2 % and a Hygroscopicity of 9.23 %. • The modified wood achieved a reduction of 48.8 % in THR and 80.86 % decrease in TSP. • The flame retardant and hydrophobic mechanism of modified wood has been revealed.