Polyurethane Infused Wood Composite for High‐Performance and Swelling Resistance Advancements

ABSTRACT Wood composites are widely employed in the construction industry owing to their low density and environmentally friendly properties. Nevertheless, only a select few wood species, predominantly broadleaf hardwoods, are capable of fully meeting the industrial demands for high mechanical strength and wear resistance. Even so, wood is still prone to swelling in humid or water‐saturated environments, which significantly compromises its strength and durability. Herein, a novel strategy to simultaneously enhance swelling resistance, mechanical strength, and wear resistance in common wood was proposed. The cedar wood (CW) was densified and infused by polyurethane (PU). The test results indicated that PU fully filled the porous structure of CW with both covalent bonds and hydrogen bonds. Compared with untreated CW, the wood composite exhibited an increase in compressive strength of up to 340.4% and a reduction in wear rate of up to 95.6%. Additionally, the wood composite also presented a reduction in water‐induced volume expansion rate of up to 56.0% compared to that of compressed CW. This study aims to develop a novel modification strategy that enhances the mechanical properties and wear resistance of wood composites, suppresses water‐induced swelling, and consequently broadens the range of wood composites suitable for practical applications while expanding their potential scope of utilization.