[4] A research group led by Professor Lars Berglund[6] from Swedish KTH University along with a University of Maryland research group led by Professor Liangbing Hu[3] have developed a method to remove the color and some chemicals from small blocks of wood, followed by adding polymers, such as poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and epoxy, at the cellular level, thereby rendering them transparent.
As soon as released in between 2015 and 2016, see-through wood had a large press reaction, with articles in ScienceDaily,[7] Wired,[8] The Wall Street Journal,[9] and The New York Times.
[10] In 2021 researchers reported a way to manufacture transparent wood lighter and stronger than glass that requires substantially smaller amounts of chemicals and energy than methods used before.
[16] However, at Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources in 2018, Xuan Wang and his colleagues developed a new production method of infiltrating a prepolymerized methyl methacrylate (MMA) solution into delignified wood fibers.
[15] This unique anisotropic structure, the properties with distinctive values when measured in several directions, allows it to pump ions and water for photosynthesis in the wood.
The polymer matrix usually accounts for ≈70 vol%, results in nanostructured biocomposites combining an excellent optical transmittance of 90% at 1.2 mm thickness and a remarkably low haze of 30%, with a high mechanical performance (strength 174 MPa, Young's modulus 17 GPa).
[3] They conclude that longitudinal to transverse properties decreased for transparent wood, which they expected as the presence of the polymer resin suppresses the cavity space.
[17] The transparent wood, tightly packed and perpendicularly aligned cellulose fibers operate as wideband wave-guides with high transmission scattering losses for light.
[22] Although the development of transparent wood composites is still at a lab-scale and prototype level, their potential for energy efficiency and operational savings in the building industry are very promising.
Based on research and simulation performed by Joseph Arehart at the University of Colorado Boulder, transparent wood as a glass glazing system replacement could reduce the space conditioning energy consumption by 24.6% to 33.3% in medium (climate zone 3C, San Francisco, CA) and large office spaces (climate zone 4C, Seattle, Washington) respectably.
[26] These are relevant insights in transparent wood's potential functionality because it shows lower thermal conductivity and better impact strength compared to popular glass glazing systems.
Li and her colleagues at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology studied the high optical transmittance that makes transparent wood a candidate for substrate in perovskite solar cells.