SUSTAINABLE TRANSPARENT WOOD BASED ON BIO-BASED ISOBORNYL ACRYLATE:METHACRYLATE MATRICES

Transparent wood (TW) has recently emerged as one of the most promising bio-based structural and functional materials for sustainable technologies. It is obtained by combining a lignocellulosic scaffold with a transparent polymer matrix, generating a composite capable of retaining the mechanical advantages of wood while exhibiting remarkable optical properties. Compared with conventional transparent materials such as glass and petroleum-derived plastics, transparent wood offers lower environmental impact, reduced density, enhanced toughness, and improved thermal insulation performance. Consequently, TW has attracted considerable attention for applications ranging from energy-efficient buildings and smart windows to solar cells, optical devices, and thermal management systems. The fabrication of transparent wood generally involves the removal or modification of lignin, which contains chromophoric groups responsible for light absorption. The resulting porous cellulose-rich template is subsequently impregnated with a polymer possessing a refractive index close to that of cellulose. This refractive index matching minimizes light scattering at internal interfaces and enables high optical transmittance. To date, most TW systems rely on epoxy resins or poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), which provide excellent optical performance but are predominantly derived from fossil resources.

In the present work, transparent wood was fabricated using bio-based isobornyl-derived monomers, namely isobornyl acrylate (IBOA) and isobornyl methacrylate (IBOMA), obtained from renewable terpene feedstocks. These monomers offer a renewable carbon content approaching 75-80%, together with refractive indices compatible with cellulose. The objective of this study was to investigate the suitability of polyIBOA, polyIBOMA, and their copolymers as sustainable matrices for transparent wood, evaluating their optical, thermal, and morphological characteristics.

Read the full article here: Cabras, A., Nuvoli, D., Pugliese, D., Terzi, M., Mariani, A., & Malucelli, G. (2026, September 11). SUSTAINABLE TRANSPARENT WOOD BASED ON BIO-BASED ISOBORNYL ACRYLATE:METHACRYLATE MATRICES. XXVI Italian Congress of the Italian Macromolecular Association (AIM 2026), Torino. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22706381