THE NATIONAL INSTITUTION OF ENIGINEERING

Mananthavadi road,Mysore-570008
(An Autonomous Institute under VTU,Belgavi)

TRANSPARENT WOOD
Transparent wood is one of the innovative construction materials that hold the potential to lift the construction sector to a whole new level. Not only is
it environmentally-friendly, but also a great alternative to plastic and glass. Optically transparent wood combines mechanical performance with optical
functionalities is an emerging candidate for applications in smart buildings and structural optics and photonics. The present review summarizes
transparent wood preparation methods, optical and mechanical performance, and applications.

Impregnation: Wood is immersed in a solution of

Transparent wood for the first time was created in the year 1992 by a
German researcher Siegfried Fink. But it was not until between 2015 and
2016 when the two professors, Professor Lars Berglund from Swedish
KTH University and Professor Liang Bing Hu from the University of
Maryland, developed a method to eliminate colour, some of the
chemicals from small wood samples and added polymers to make it
transparent.
Transparent wood is a material that has been gaining attention in
recent years due to its unique properties. It is a type of wood that has
been modified to allow light to pass through, making it transparent. This
is achieved by removing the lignin, a component that gives wood its
brown color and makes it opaque, from the cell walls of the wood fibers.
As far as transparent wood's strength is concerned, it has the same
strength of lumber whilst being far lighter. Finally, transparent wood
could be utilized in home construction and bring more light into the
house, consequently reducing the need for artificial light which can
consume a lot of power
chemicals Sodium hydroxide and Sodium sulphite ,boiled
and soaked behind for 12 hrs,that removes the lignin and
hemicellulose from the cell walls, ,which leaves behind
floopy transparent structural.
Drying: A solution of a transparent polymer, such as
PMMA, is infused into the cellulose-rich structure. The polymer
infiltrates the cell walls and fills the spaces left by the removed
lignin and hemicellulose.
Infiltration: The impregnated wood is then dried,
typically in a vacuum oven, to remove the solvent and prevent
the wood from collapsing.
Polymerization: The infiltrated wood is then subjected
to conditions, such as heat and pressure, that cause the polymer
to solidify and form a strong bond with the cellulose structure.
Finishing: The transparent wood is then cut and sanded
to the desired thickness and shape, and the surface may be
polished for clarity.
This process results in a transparent wood material that has
similar mechanical properties to wood but with improved
transparency and UV resistance

The excellent material properties of wood originate from its hierarchical structure and also from its distinct fibre
directionality. Wood is made up of fibres that are oriented in the direction of growth of the tree. These fibres are made of three
main components; namely – cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin.
Wood, as we all know is not transparent in nature. This is mainly due to the presence of lignin in the wood which absorbs light,and
impart brown colour.
If the lignin is removed from the wood, The material obtained is not completely transparent and it is white in colour. This is
because of excessive scattering that occurs inside the wood. Now, if you fill up all the pores of the wood with a material that
matches the refractive index of the wood, then you can obtain transparency. Polyethene glycol is used as a phase change material. It
is infiltrated into the wood without lignin. Then, acrylic such as polymethyl methacrylate is added in order to increase the
transparency and hydrophobicity of the final material.

1 . Heat storage : In terms of its structural Transparent Wood is; the

Transparent wood can be used as an encapsulating material for applications is its ductility and epoxy isn’t environmental
preventing the leakage of the phase change material. Wood has an ideal resistance to fracture which is friendly. Currently, it is
higher compared to glass. The only possible to make it in
structure since it has Nano porosity. Hence, it works really well to retain the
transparent wood is almost the labs. But the
phase change material from leaking out. transparent as a glass but it has engineers are confident
2. Transparency; much higher strength than any that very soon they will be
The material will absorb the heat and become transparent. And once the glass. able to swap the epoxy
temperature decreases, it starts releasing the heat and turns opaque. Transparent wood is a better with recyclable plastic
3.Mechanical Properties : biodegradable material in and scale the process.
does not shatter in an unfavourable way. comparison to plastic.
outstanding toughness.
high optical transmittance and haze.
low thermal conductivity as well as low density.
The thinner the sample, the higher is its optical transmittance. This is

because the transparency is dependent on the volume fraction of To replace glass

cellulose. Wood based Energy
Storage devices.
Transparent
nanopapers to
replace Plastic
Transparent wood is a newly "Transparent Wood: Its Properties | Lightweight wood for
invented material. Currently it is a Application | Pros and Cons" wind Turbines.
topic of research and undergoing https://gharpedia.com/blog/transparent In wood based water
through various experiments, but -wood-properties-application-pros- treatment
it certainly holds a great potential and-cons/
for becoming an important Optically Transparent Wood: Load bearing window that never break
building material. Its translucency Recent Progress, Opportunities, It could be used to manufacture solar cells, especially for large surface.
along with its outstanding and Challenges Yuanyuan Li
mechanical properties is making By,
it an interesting choice for using Sharanya N M - 4NI21CV081
in façades and for that fact, it is Course Instructor DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Shwethashree - 4NI21CV086
gradually paving its way towards Ms. Pooja P K Shivkumar A S - 4NI21CV085
being listed as a structural Asst.Professor III SEM Sharath - 4NI21CV082
material in the field of ' B' Section Siddartha S - 4NI21CV087
construction Shasank R - 4NI21CV083