Dyed wood is prone to photoaging when exposed to UV irradiation which decreases its decorative effect and service life. Holocellulose, as the main component of dyed wood, has a photodegradation behavior which is still unclear. To investigate the effect of UV irradiation on chemical structure and microscopic morphology changes of dyed wood holocellulose, Maple birch (Betulacostata Trautv) dyed wood and holocellulose were exposed to UV accelerated aging treatment; the photoresponsivity includes crystallization, chemical structure, thermal stability, and microstructure were studied. Results showed that UV radiation has no significant effect on the lattice structure of dyed wood fibers. The wood crystal zone diffraction 2θ and layer spacing was basically unchanged. With the UV radiation time extension, the relative crystallinity of dyed wood and holocellulose showed a trend of increasing first and then decreasing, but the overall change was not significant. The relative crystallinity change range of the dyed wood was not more than 3%, and the dyed holocellulose was not more than 5%. UV radiation caused the molecular chain chemical bond in the non-crystalline region of dyed holocellulose to break, the fiber underwent photooxidation degradation, and the surface photoetching feature was prominent. Wood fiber morphology was damaged and destroyed, finally leading to the degradation and corrosion of the dyed wood. Studying the photodegradation of holocellulose is helpful to understand the photochromic mechanism of dyed wood, and, further, to improve its weather resistance.
Keywords: UV irradiation; chemical structure; dyed wood holocellulose; microscopic morphology; photoaging.