Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 20, 2026

Quantitative 31P NMR Analysis of Lignins and Tannins
Published on: August 2, 2021
Structural changes of wood during hydro-thermal and thermal treatments evaluated through NIR spectroscopy and
Carmen-Mihaela Popescu1, Parviz Navi2, María Inés Placencia Peña2
1Petru Poni Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the Romanian Academy, Iasi, Romania.
Abstract:
Spruce wood samples were subjected to different conditions of thermal and hydro-thermal treatment by varying the temperature, relative humidity and period of exposure. The obtained treated samples were evaluated using near infrared spectroscopy (NIR), principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) in order to evidence the structural changes which may occur during the applied treatment conditions. Following this, modification in all wood components were observed, modifications which were dependent on the temperature, amount of relative humidity and also the treatment time. Therefore, higher variations were evidenced for samples treated at higher temperatures and for longer periods. At the same time, the increase in the amount of water vapours in the medium induced a reduced rate of side chains and condensation reactions occurring in the wood structure. Further, by PCA and HCA was possible to discriminate the modifications in the wood samples according to treatment time and amount of relative humidity.
Related Concept Videos
Softwoods and Hardwoods
NMR Spectroscopy of Aromatic Compounds
Seasoning of Wood
Achieving equilibrium moisture content is the goal of seasoning; this is the point where the wood's moisture content stabilizes to align with the moisture levels of the surrounding environment. Proper...
UV–Vis Spectroscopy: Woodward–Fieser Rules
IR Spectroscopy: Hooke's Law Approximation of Molecular Vibration
According to Hooke's law, the vibrational frequency is directly proportional to...
Introduction to Wood
The structural integrity of the...

