Lignin and soy flour as adhesive materials in the fabrication of Rhizophora spp. particleboard for medical physics applications.

ABSTRACT spp. wood trunks were processed into 1.0 gcm−3 particleboards at three different particle sizes with the addition of natural adhesives, i.e. soy flour and lignin. Samples of particleboards were characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Crystallinity evaluation was conducted via X-ray diffraction (XRD). SEM images of the 6% adhesive-bonded Rhizophora spp. showed improvement in terms of compactness and number of voids, compared to the binderless sample. SEM images of soy flour appeared bright due to its higher density compared to lignin. FTIR spectrum of Rhizophora spp., soy flour, and lignin, were in good agreement with the previous study with adhesive-bound samples showed no discernible difference compared to raw Rhizophora spp. sample. TGA analysis revealed that all the samples showed a dissociation temperature of below 450°C. XRD result implies a lower crystallinity index compared to previous studies, indicating more amorphous material existed in the sample than crystalline material thus suggesting better physical and mechanical strength. Overall results demonstrated the potential use of soy-lignin bonded Rhizophora spp. particleboard as a tissue-substitute phantom material in medical physics applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]