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Fully Bio-based Transparent Wood

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Transparent Wood Materials

Part of the book series: Springer Series in Materials Science ((SSMATERIALS,volume 330))

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Abstract

Due to its high optical transparency, excellent thermal insulation, and great durability, transparent wood is a desirable structural material for energy-efficient buildings, electronics, packaging, and nanotechnologies. The transparent wood enhances the aesthetic and practical qualities of wood. A lot of work has gone into making transparent wood with luminous, electrochromic, thermochromic, and photo-switchable functionalities by incorporating quantum dots, nanoparticles, or dyes. Because of their superior mechanical qualities and immense potential to function as renewable and CO2-storing cellulose scaffolds for cutting-edge hybrid materials with embedded functionality, wood-derived cellulose materials obtained by structure-retaining delignification are gaining increasing attention. A wide range of characteristics is produced by applying various delignification protocols and numerous additional processes, such as polymer impregnation and densification. Due to the scarcity of bio-based monomers that combine advantageous processing with high performance, the sustainable development of biocomposites has been constrained. Nonetheless, because of its renewable and biodegradable qualities, transparent wood has the potential to replace traditional petroleum-based polymers because of the growing knowledge obtained during the last few years which is presented in the following chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Materials Science and Technology, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Trnava, Slovakia

    Igor Wachter

  2. Faculty of Materials Science and Technology, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Trnava, Slovakia

    Peter Rantuch

  3. Faculty of Materials Science and Technology, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Trnava, Slovakia

    Tomáš Štefko

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  2. Peter Rantuch
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Correspondence to Igor Wachter .

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Wachter, I., Rantuch, P., Štefko, T. (2023). Fully Bio-based Transparent Wood. In: Transparent Wood Materials. Springer Series in Materials Science, vol 330. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23405-7_3

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