Transparent magnetic wood composites based on immobilizing Fe3O4 nanoparticles into a delignified wood template

Wood is one of the key renewable resources due to its excellent structure and physical properties. Functionalized wood and wood-based materials not only possess important engineering applications but also great potential in some new technology fields, such as electronics, optics, and energy. Endowing these functional wood-based materials with magnetic properties has an important significance for exploring lightweight building materials or electronic devices. In this study, we report the fabrication of a transparent magnetic wood (TMW) based on filling the index-matching methyl methacrylate and magnetic Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles into the delignified wood template. The presence of the polymer and Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles within the wood structure is monitored by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, and Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy. The resulting TMW possesses moderate transparency and magnetic properties combining with outstanding mechanical performance. Moreover, the influence of the concentration of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles on the final optical, magnetic, and mechanical properties of TMW is also discussed. This work provides a potential strategy to develop wood-based materials for magneto-optical application.