Hindawi Publishing Corporation International Journal of Carbohydrate Chemistry Volume 2013, Article ID 141034, 6 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/141034 Research Article Acetylation of Wood Flour from Four Wood Species Grown in Nigeria Using Vinegar and Acetic Anhydride Yakubu Azeh, 1 Gabriel Ademola Olatunji, 2 Cheku Mohammed, 1 and Paul Andrew Mamza 1, 3 1 Department of Chemistry, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Nigeria 2 Department of Chemistry, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria 3 Department of Chemistry, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria Correspondence should be addressed to Yakubu Azeh; azehyakubu@yahoo.com Received 23 November 2012; Accepted 19 December 2012 Academic Editor: R. J. Linhardt Copyright © 2013 Yakubu Azeh et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Effect of acetylation on pretreated wood �our of four different wood species, Boabab (Adansonia digitata), Mahoganny (Daniella oliveri), African locust bean (Parkia biglobosa) and Beech wood (Gmelina arborea), had been investigated. e �rst batch of wood species were acetylated using acetic anhydride while the second batch were acetylated with commercial vinegar. Both experiments were conducted in the presence of varying amount of CaCl 2 as catalyst and at temperature of 120 ∘ C for 3 h. e success of acetylation was determined based on Weight Percent Gain for each sample treated with either chemicals used. FT-IR, a veritable tool was used for the analysis of both treated and untreated samples to further investigate the success of acetylation. e results showed the presence of important band such as carbonyl absorptions at 1743, 1744, 1746, 1731, 1718 and 1696 cm −1 as appeared separately in the spectra of acetylated samples, con�rming esteri�cation occurred. e purpose of this work was to investigate the applicability of vinegar for acetylation of lignocellulosic �bers. Blends/composites were prepared by solution casting and their kinetics investigated in distilled water. e results indicated they could be used in outdoor applications such as, decking and packaging. 1. Introduction Composites have been described as materials composed of a hard material with discontinuous reinforcement that is embedded in a weaker, continuous matrix. Where the rein- forcement matrix [1] maintains the position and orientation of the reinforcement. e constituents of the composites retain their individual, physical and chemical properties. Composite give a combination of qualities that are very different from the individual constituents that constituted the composite. Several reports on thermoplastic composites have been documented. Different types of modi�ed and unmodi�ed natural �bers such as wood �bers and �our, kenaf �bers, sago, rice starch, cornstarch, henequen �bers, and pineapple-leaf �bers, have been used as �llers in polymer matrices [1, 2]. Dimensional stability and strength of unmodi�ed wood �our polyethylene composites was reported to have improved by increased in �ber loading(s). �nmodi�ed starch have been used to produce composites of low density polyethy- lene (LDPE). Composites of unmodi�ed starch have been reported to exhibit low mechanical properties, though with improved biodegradation. e introduction of ester groups unto starch surface, manipulate its properties and support the blending mechanism [3]. Wood-Plastic composites have been described as products form by combining treated or untreated wood in the form of �ber or particles and a thermoplastic polymer such as polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, or polypropylene [4]. Wood-plastic composites have signi�cant applications in various �elds such as con- struction/engineering. For wood as a construction mate- rial, its use is impaired under certain degradative agents due to its hydrophilic nature, presence of cellulose, a food substrate for microorganisms. For this reason, ecofriendly methods to improve the performance of wood are been developed. All over the world, efforts has been made to move away from toxic to nontoxic means of wood modi�- cation.