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Lightweight, strong, moldable wood via cell wall engineering as a sustainable structural material.
- Source :
-
Science . 10/22/2021, Vol. 374 Issue 6566, p465-471. 7p. 1 Color Photograph, 1 Diagram, 1 Graph. - Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- Wood is a sustainable structural material, but it cannot be easily shaped while maintaining its mechanical properties. We report a processing strategy that uses cell wall engineering to shape flat sheets of hardwood into versatile three-dimensional (3D) structures. After breaking down wood’s lignin component and closing the vessels and fibers by evaporating water, we partially re-swell the wood in a rapid water-shock process that selectively opens the vessels. This forms a distinct wrinkled cell wall structure that allows the material to be folded and molded into desired shapes. The resulting 3D-molded wood is six times stronger than the starting wood and comparable to widely used lightweight materials such as aluminum alloys. This approach widens wood’s potential as a structural material, with lower environmental impact for buildings and transportation applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00368075
- Volume :
- 374
- Issue :
- 6566
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Science
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 153171792
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abg9556