Potassium acetate-catalyzed acetylation of wood at low temperatures I: simplified method using a mixed reagent

Ezomatsu wood blocks were acetylated in a mixture of acetic anhydride and acetic acid containing excess potassium acetate (KAc). The mixture method enabled rapid acetylation at 120°C: a 20% weight gain (weight percent gain; WPG) was achieved within 30 min while the WPG did not exceed 18% after 120 min of conventional uncatalyzed acetylation. At 40°C, however, a satisfactory WPG was not achieved with the mixture method because both the wood swelling and KAc concentration in the reagent solution were limited at that temperature. In addition, the antiswelling efficiency attained by the mixture method was irregularly low, probably because of nonuniform reaction involving shrinkage of the cell lumina. These results suggest that the mixture method is not advantageous for low-temperature acetylation, whereas it enables simple and rapid acetylation at high temperature.