Softened Wood Treated by Deep Eutectic Solvents

Yan Wu; Lechen Yang; Jichun Zhou; Feng Yang; Qiongtao Huang; Yijing Cai

doi:10.1021/acsomega.0c02223

Softened Wood Treated by Deep Eutectic Solvents

ACS Omega. 2020 Aug 24;5(35):22163-22170. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.0c02223. eCollection 2020 Sep 8.

Authors

Yan Wu^{1

2}, Lechen Yang^{1

2}, Jichun Zhou^{1

2}, Feng Yang³, Qiongtao Huang⁴, Yijing Cai^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ College of Furnishings and Industrial Design, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China.
² Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China.
³ Fashion Accessory Art and Engineering College, Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, Beijing 100029, China.
⁴ Department of Research and Development Center, Yihua Lifestyle Technology Co., Ltd., Shantou 515834, China.

Abstract

Due to its good physical properties, softened wood (SW) has been widely used in the fields of home furnishing, interior decoration, and construction, such as decorative panels, softened wood flooring, wooden bricks, and softened wood furniture. However, traditional methods of wood softening often fail to meet the requirements of enterprises for softening wood. Here, inspired by the research related to wood softening, we propose a method for directly preparing softened wood (SW) using a new type of "ionic liquid" eutectic solvent (DES) owing to its low cost, environmental friendliness, recyclability, and other advantages. To improve the adaptability of the study, a total of five types of DESs were designed and prepared, and by the microwave-assisted DES treatment of natural wood (NW), the purpose of softening wood was achieved. Then, we conducted a series of comparative analyses and performance tests on NW and SW, including microscopic images, chemical composition, color difference, and mechanical properties. The results show that the wood softened by DES has become a highly porous network structure, and partial lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose have been removed. At the same time, different degrees of color change, lower hardness, excellent mechanical flexibility, and a compression rebound rate of up to about 90% are obtained. The above-mentioned various properties of SW provide great potential for its application in wood products.