Wood Modification as a Tool to Understand Moisture in Wood

Moisture plays a central role in the performance of wood products because it affects important material properties such as the resistance to decomposition, the mechanical properties, and the dimensions. To improve wood performance, a wide range of wood modification techniques that alter the wood chemistry in various ways have been described in the literature. Typically, these modifications aim to improve resistance to decomposition, dimensional stability, or, to introduce novel functionalities in the wood. However, wood modification techniques can also be an important tool to improve our understanding of the interactions between wood and moisture. In this review, we describe current knowledge gaps in our understanding of moisture in wood and how modification has been and could be used to clarify some of these gaps. This review shows that introducing specific chemical changes, and even controlling the distribution of these, in combination with the variety of experimental methods available for characterization of moisture in wood, could give novel insights into the interaction between moisture and wood. Such insights could further contribute to applications in several related fields of research such as how to enhance the resistance to decomposition, how to improve the performance of moisture-induced wooden actuators, or how to improve the utilization of wood biomass with challenging swelling anisotropy.

Automated summary

Moisture is crucial in wood performance, affecting properties like resistance to decomposition, mechanical properties, and dimensions. Wood modification techniques can enhance performance by improving resistance to decomposition, dimensional stability, and introducing novel functionalities. Introducing specific chemical changes and controlling their distribution, along with experimental methods for moisture characterization, can provide insights into the interaction between moisture and wood, benefiting various fields of research.