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The validity of the use of SEM/EDAX as a tool for the detection of UF resin penetration into wood cell walls in particleboard

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Summary

The interpretation of data from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX) is dependent on the size of the excitation volume, the magnitude of which for organic materials such as wood has been little studied. From the analysis of a model system comprised of a thin layer of gold sandwiched between two layers of an epoxy plastic, it was shown that about 90% of all excitations arise from a volume about 6 μm wide and 4 μm deep. However, these dimensions vary with the orientation of the gold relative to the specimen surface, and the specimen tilt. Theoretical predictions based on these data support, but not conclusively, the previously published SEM/EDAX evidence of the penetration of urea formaldehyde resins into the wood cell wall in particleboard manufacture.

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This paper was written while A. J. Bolton was Heritage Visiting Scientist at the Forest Products Laboratory, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Visiting Professor at the Department of Forestry, University of Wisconsin, both at Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A. This support is gratefully acknowledged. The authors would also like to acknowledge the assistance of E. Edwards in machining the SEM specimens

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Bolton, A.J., Dinwoodie, J.M. & Davies, D.A. The validity of the use of SEM/EDAX as a tool for the detection of UF resin penetration into wood cell walls in particleboard. Wood Sci.Technol. 22, 345–356 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00353324

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00353324

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