Moldable Wood
Our group published “Lightweight, Strong, Moldable Wood via Cell Wall Engineering as a Sustainable Structural Material” in Science. The work introduced a cell wall engineering strategy that combined partial delignification, controlled drying, and a rapid water-shock process to create a wrinkled cell-wall microstructure. This allowed flat wood sheets to be folded and molded into complex 3D shapes while retaining high strength.
In early 2016, Our group (then at University of Maryland) introduced highly anisotropic transparent wood composites that achieved optical transmittance of up to 90% while preserving the natural aligned wood microstructure. A the same time in KTH, Professor Lars Berglund’s team reported an optically transparent wood composite by removing lignin and infiltrating the porous cellulose scaffold with a refractive-index-matched polymer.
We subsequently demonstrated that transparent wood exhibits superior thermal insulation compared with glass while providing high light transmission and strong light diffusion, making it an attractive material for energy-efficient windows and buildings.
These complementary breakthroughs established transparent wood as a multifunctional material capable of integrating structural, optical, and thermal performance.
Since 2016, researchers worldwide have expanded the concept to include transparent wood for smart windows, solar cells, light management, optical devices, structural materials, and energy-efficient buildings. Today, transparent wood is widely recognized as one of the most promising examples of high-value wood engineering, illustrating how renewable materials can replace conventional glass and plastics in next-generation technologies.
Our group’s publication:
- Lightweight, Strong, Moldable Wood via Cell Wall Engineering as a Sustainable Structural Material, Science, 2021