This study aims to provide an effective method of inhibiting the corrosion of ferrous metals exposed to preservative-treated bamboo, thereby prolonging material service life and reducing maintenance costs. The synthesis and characterization of microcapsules were first described. The characterization included the particle size, surface morphology, thermal stability, and core content of microcapsules. The results showed that microcapsules had good thermal stability and high core loading. Then, the self-healing performance and corrosion resistance of self-healing coatings were evaluated. The results indicated that self-healing coatings can identify and heal the damage automatically and had a more positive effect on inhibiting metal corrosion. Also, the mechanical properties of self-healing coatings were analyzed. The results demonstrated that microcapsule embedment did not almost affect the mechanical properties of self-healing coatings.

Bamboo is rich in starch and sugars and can be infected by mold and stain fungi, degrading its performance, shortening its service life, and reducing its utilization value. It is crucial to investigate how to protect bamboo against mold and stain fungi. The zone of inhibition test was used to evaluate the antifungal activity of azoxystrobin, kresoxim-methyl, pyraclostrobin and 3-iodo-2-propynyl-butylcarbamate (IPBC) against stain fungi (Botryodiplodia theobromae, Fusarium moniliforme, and Alternaria alternate) and mold fungi (Aspergillus niger, Penicillium citrinum, and Trichoderma viride) to develop new chemicals to protect bamboo against stain fungi and molds. The inhibitory activity of the composite pyraclostrobin and IPBC with different ratios was evaluated. Water-based formulations of the fungi were used to treat the bamboo, and the mold and stain resistance of the bamboo was investigated at different chemical retention rates. The results showed that the antifungal activity of pyraclostrobin was significantly higher than that of azoxystrobin and kresoxim-methyl. Different degrees of inhibitory activities against the stain and mold fungi were observed, and the inhibitory activity was higher against stain fungi than against molds. The three stain fungi were completely inhibited at a 7:3 ratio of pyraclostrobin to IPBC and 0.1% concentration. As the ratio increased, the inhibitory effect against mixed mold strains improved. The control efficacy of the pyraclostrobin formulations Str-1 and Str-2 at 0.1% concentration was 100% against Alternaria alternate and 70.8% against Fusarium moniliforme. The control efficacy of the composite formulations SI-1 and SI-2 at 0.1% concentration was 100% against all three stain fungi and greater than 91.8% against the mixed mold strains. This study provides new insights into the utilization of pyraclostrobin and its composite formulations as new bamboo antifungal agents.

The thermal degradation kinetics and degradation products of IPBC during the heating process are investigated herein. Experiments were conducted at isothermal conditions from 60 °C to 150 °C. The remaining IPBC content was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) at specific time intervals for each test, and the kinetic model of IPBC thermal degradation was established. The thermal degradation products of IPBC were studied by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC−MS/MS). The results showed that thermal degradation of IPBC occurred at 70 °C, and the degradation rate increased significantly from 70 °C to 150 °C. The thermal degradation kinetics of IPBC conformed to the first-order reaction and $k=3.47\times {10}^{12}{e}^{-111125/RT}$ from 60 °C to 150 °C. Seven degradation products such as prop-2-yn-1-yl ethylcarbamate and methyl N-butylcarbamate were identified and the degradation reaction pathway and the mechanism of IPBC were proposed, which involved deiodination, demethylation, deethynylation, deethylation, and hydroxylation processes.