Optically Transparent Wood from a Nanoporous Cellulosic Template: Combining Functional and Structural Performance
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Towards Biomimicking Wood: Fabricated Free-standing Films of Nanocellulose, Lignin, and a Synthetic Polycation
Published on: June 17, 2014
Yuanyuan Li1, Qiliang Fu1, Shun Yu1
1Wallenberg Wood Science Center, Department of Fiber and Polymer Technology, and §School of Information and Communication Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology , SE-10044 Stockholm, Sweden.
Abstract:
Optically transparent wood (TW) with transmittance as high as 85% and haze of 71% was obtained using a delignified nanoporous wood template. The template was prepared by removing the light-absorbing lignin component, creating nanoporosity in the wood cell wall. Transparent wood was prepared by successful impregnation of lumen and the nanoscale cellulose fiber network in the cell wall with refractive-index-matched prepolymerized methyl methacrylate (MMA). During the process, the hierarchical wood structure was preserved. Optical properties of TW are tunable by changing the cellulose volume fraction. The synergy between wood and PMMA was observed for mechanical properties. Lightweight and strong transparent wood is a potential candidate for lightweight low-cost, light-transmitting buildings and transparent solar cell windows.
