Abstract
AbstractUtilization of hierarchically aligned natural cellulosic structures has become a leading natural template scaffold for a diverse range of functional applications. This natural scaffold derived from wood by partial or full removal of lignin without altering or disturbing the hierarchically aligned cellulosic structure is known as delignified wood (DW). Over the past five years, various types of functional materials for diverse applications have been fabricated using DW. This review aims to highlight the significance of DW in functional material development by discussing the delignification impacts on the wood cell wall properties and review the different strategies used in functional materials fabrication. The first part of this review discusses the fundamental aspects of wood cell wall structure in relation to wood chemistry and lignin biosynthesis. The second part focuses on the different delignification methods used in partial and full lignin removal from wood cell walls and the fundamental properties (i.e., physical, mechanical, and chemical) of DW. The third part of this review discusses the strategies and the detailed current literature regarding the development of diverse functional materials based on DW. A greater understanding of DW provides the potential for further development of DW‐based functional materials for a diverse range of future applications.
Highlights
Transparent wood is a topic that has gained considerable attention in recent years and the first study in this field was performed by Fink in 1992.[12]
Reports that use chemically modified acetylated wood as a substrate can be found. These chemicals are sometimes used in combination with acetic acid and the bleaching agent is by majority H2O2
The results demonstrated that the lamination method reduced the delignification time by ≈50% and improved the dimensional stability of the transparent wood
Summary
The secondary wall of softwood tracheids is formed after the primary wall formation and consists of three distinct layers (S1, S2, and S3) with highly ordered cellulose microfibrils. In the S3 layer, the cellulose microfibrils form an S-helix at angles of 60°–90°.[49,50] The S2 layer is considered to be the most important layer for providing structural properties to a living tree. It is responsible for the strength properties of wood because it carries most of the axial loading in tracheids of softwood. The tracheids have highly specialized pit membrane with central thickened torus and surrounding margo.[49]
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