Continuous Fabrication of Strong, Scalable, High-Yield, and Sustainable Materials from AspenShow others and affiliations
2025 (English)In: ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, E-ISSN 2168-0485, Vol. 13, no 20, p. 7342-7351Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Lightweight materials with high strength are desirable for advanced applications in transportation, sports equipment, construction, automotive, and aerospace. Aspen is fast growing, has low flammability, and is renewable and readily available. In this study, we present a continuous, high-yielding, efficient, scalable, and sustainable approach for the fabrication of strong materials from aspen by synergistic selective chemical modification and continuous hot pressing. FTIR analysis revealed changes in the chemical composition of the wood polymers, including the introduction of anionic groups, while SEM images showed morphological and structural transformations such as smoother surfaces and a more compact wood structure. The proposed strategy achieved up to 258 MPa (530% increase) in tensile strength by combining enhanced ion-bonding and hydrogen-bonding with the alignment of cellulose nanofibrils and the solidification of softened, depolymerized lignin through cross-linking reactions. This work demonstrates the continuous large-scale production of lightweight, strong structural materials under energy-efficient and mild modification conditions, suitable for the green fabrication of next-generation advanced materials from wood.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
American Chemical Society , 2025. Vol. 13, no 20, p. 7342-7351
Keywords [en]
Bonding; Construction Materials; Hydrogen Bonds; Lumber; Populus; Wood Structure; Hydrogen bonds; Lumber; Timber; Wood chemicals; Aspen; Densifications; High yielding; High-strength; Higher yield; Lightweight materials; Renewables; Strong; Sustainable materials; Synergistic continuous densification; Crosslinking
National Category
Wood Science
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-78600DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c10377Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105004908237OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ri-78600DiVA, id: diva2:1968705
Note
The financial support by the Swedish National Research Council (VR), Mid Sweden University, and the European Regional Development Fund (grant number 20358390) is acknowledged. The research work was also financed by the Knowledge Foundation project HiPeMaCell, with cofinancing from Ipco AB, Holmen AB, Åre Skidfabrik AB, Vitudden Kanotvarv VKV AB, and 6/5/4 AB. The research was als osupported by the Knowledge Foundation-financed research profile Neopulp.
2025-06-132025-06-132025-09-23Bibliographically approved