9.3 Innovative Method for Assessing Penetration Depth of Wood Protective Resins in Spruce Veneer via Infrared Microscopy
Wood requires protection against environmental and biological degradation, therefore, to prolong its service life, a common method is impregnation. A study was conducted, in which acryl urethan modified alkyd impregnation was carried out on spruce veneer. Standard characterization by weight percent gain does not give any indications of the distribution in the wooden structure. The […]
8.1 Harnessing Water-Induced Functionality in Nanocellulose-Based Products
Due to its high specific surface area and abundant surface polar groups (such as hydroxyl, carboxyl, and other ionic functional groups), nanocellulose exhibits strong interactions with water. The presence of water in nanocellulose can introduce diverse functionalities, serving multiple roles. In this presentation, I will discuss our work on leveraging water to tune the mechanical […]
9.1 Deciphering Lignin Architecture: A Fluorescent Imaging Study Enabling Quantitative And Qualitative Spatial Chemotyping
Lignins display spatial and compositional changes at the nm-level between cell wall layers and cell types. These spatial modifications of lignins are essential to support the different functions of lignified tissues such as the reversible deformation of cells, their impermeable intercellular cohesion or their structural mechanical reinforcement (Pesquet et al., 2025). To date, lignins are […]
10.5 Utilizing X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy to study self-assembly dynamics of cellulose nanocrystals
Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) exhibit self-assembly into higher-ordered chiral nematic liquid crystal (LC) structures. Understanding their dynamic behavior during phase transitions is crucial for advancing nanomaterial applications in photonics, biomaterials, and coatings. In this study, we employ X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (XPCS) to investigate the real-time self-assembly dynamics of CNC suspensions at varying concentrations, ranging from […]
10.2 3D-Visualisation of the nanoscale properties of cellulose microfibrils in wood by combined SWAXS and high-resolution microtomography
As the demand for sustainable products grows, forest-derived materials, particularly biodegradable, lignocellulosic plant fibres, play an essential role in addressing global societal and economic needs. These materials owe their exceptional mechanical properties to the hierarchical arrangement of their cellular structures, composite-like cell walls and the ultrastructural characteristics of the cellulose microfibrils. This is the case especially for wood, in which […]
12.1 Functionalization of Plant Cells with Chitosan-modified Polyethyleneimine Nanoparticles
Plant cell suspension cultures provide a powerful and versatile platform for studying cellular processes and metabolic pathways in a controlled environment. Their manipulability enables targeted investigations into key physiological mechanisms, including carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake, a crucial step in photosynthesis. Enhancing these cultures with functional materials, such as nanoparticles, hold promise for improving CO2 capture […]
9.5 Advancements in 31 P NMR spectroscopy for lignin analyses: a new protocol for quantifying carbonyl groups
The content of carbonyl groups in a lignin sample is given by the sum of aldehydric, ketonic, and quinonoid groups. This data is fundamental for both technical and analytical-grade lignins. On the one hand, it is of crucial relevance for technical lignins when planning upgrade processes involving its hydrophobicity, self-assembly behaviour, and tendency to (de)polymerise. […]
10.1 Characterizing the hierarchical structure of cellulosic biomaterials using μXRD
Small/Wide Angle X-ray Scattering (S/WAXS) is commonly applied to study the hierarchical structure of cellulosic materials. This structural information, such as the crystallinity index and the degree of cellulose fibril orientation, is essential for a fundamental understanding of the mechanical properties of cellulosic biomaterials. In addition, S/WAXS using synchrotron-based μXRD links the atomic and nanoscale […]
8.2 Structure and water dynamics in conductive PEDOT:PSS/cellulose nanocomposite films
PEDOT:PSS is a water-dispersable and electrically conductive polymer blend that is increasingly applied in numerous fields such as batteries and super-capacitors. While many studies focus on performance optimization, degradation issues because of humid environments are rarely discussed. PEDOT:PSS absorbs significant amounts of water (~50 wt%), which leads to a pronounced film swelling factor of up […]
10.3 Absorption of liquid water in paper and wood observed by in situ X-ray scattering
Absorption of liquid water by cellulosic materials is a fundamental phenomenon with crucial role in absorbent paper products, printing and packaging materials, as well as in various applications and manufacturing steps of wood products. The imbibition of water in such hierarchical porous materials is difficult to study in high detail. Especially, the absorption and transport […]