Hydrogen Bonding and Swelling of Wood

Volumetric swelling of hard maple (Acer saccharum) sapwood, ovendried and then soaked in various dioxane-water solutions, was measured. Maximum swelling occurred at about 0.8 mole fraction (percent of moles of water in moles of solution). Curves of swelling, vapor pressure, and molar dielectric polarization per mole fraction of water are plotted and stated to be similar. Also, linear curves of vapor on swelling and of swelling on polarization are similar. However, curves of time to attain equilibrium swelling, partial molar volume of water, mole fraction, and swelling on activity of water (ratio of partial pressure of water in dioxane to vapor pressure of pure water) were different from the other curves. This suggests that hydrogen bonding is connected with the swelling abnormalities observed. A possible mechanism for this is proposed. It is also suggested that the proposed mechanism would hold for other similar binary liquid systems.

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