Improvement of dimensional stability, UV and decay resistance of wood through impregnation with carboxylated sucrose prepared by a green route

Wood is an attractive bio-based building material whose properties are often affected by environmental moisture, ultraviolet, and fungi. Chemical modification is an effective way to improve wood properties ( e.g. , dimensional stability and decay resistance) and thus extends the service life of its products. However, traditional chemical modifiers often contain mild toxicity or volatiles, which harms the operator and environment. Herein, a carboxylated sucrose (CS) was prepared by a green synthesis route using natural compounds (sucrose and malic acid) and used to enhance the properties of wood. The CS penetrated the wood through vacuum-pressure impregnation, which can self-polymerize and be deposited in the cell lumen and chemically bonded to cell wall components , thus efficiently sequestered within the wood. The CS treated wood (CS-wood) exhibited excellent dimensional stability with 41 % of ASE due to its cross-linking with cell walls. Besides, the modulus of elasticity and compressive strength of CS-wood increased by 21 % and 20 % compared with untreated wood, respectively. Notably, CS can help extend the wood service life by limiting the adsorption and migration of moisture in wood cells to improve the UV and decay resistance of the wood. This whole-process friendly approach to preparing biomass-derived CS modifiers effectively improved wood properties, which may provide innovative concepts and insights for wood modification research.