Comparative study of photodegradation of wood by a UV laser and a xenon light source

Abstract

A detailed study of photodegradation of wood surfaces by xenon light source and a UV laser has been carried out. Silver birch, rubberwood, Scots pine and chir pine wood veneers were irradiated with a xenon light source or a 244 nm argon ion laser. The changes in chemical structure of wood surfaces were monitored by UV resonance Raman (UVRR), photoacoustic Fourier transform infrared (FTIR-PAS) and UV–vis reflectance spectroscopies. The depth profile of xenon lamp irradiated wood surfaces was carried out by measuring FTIR-PAS spectra at different moving mirror velocities. The UVRR and FTIR-PAS spectra of irradiated wood surfaces showed degradation of aromatic structure in lignin combined with strong formation of carbonyl structures. The FTIR-PAS spectra measured from xenon irradiated wood surfaces indicate that hardwood lignin degrades at a faster rate than softwood lignin. The UVRR spectra of xenon irradiated wood show a significant decrease in the intensities of aromatic structures at 1602 cm −1. This is accompanied by a significant band broadening and notable shift towards longer wavenumbers, which has been attributed to the formation of o- and p-quinone structures as degradation products. The formation of quinone structures was also supported by the generation of a broad absorption band between 350 and 600 nm in UV–vis reflectance spectra of irradiated wood surfaces. There was a significant broadening in the region of 1500–1000 cm −1 in UVRR spectra due to the formation of unsaturated structures as a result of lignin degradation. The UVRR spectra of laser irradiated wood showed similar behaviour i.e., overall broadening and a rapid reduction in the intensity of lignin aromatic structure. The rate of degradation by laser was very high. However, the extent of band broadening was higher in xenon irradiated wood indicating the generation of several different types of structures as compared to laser irradiation, which produces only particular type of structures. UVRR spectra of laser irradiated Whatman paper showed significant photodegradation of cellulose by UV laser. The UV degradation rate of lignin was much higher than cellulose.