More Stable Wood without Lignin

摘要

Wood is one of the oldest materials in the world. It is light, has excellent mechanical properties, regrows, and binds C02. Against the background of the current climate debate, the last two properties in particular raise the question of how wood can be used even more and better. Ingo Burgert's research group at Empa and ETH Zurich has been investigating this question for years. Their aim: to improve the natural properties of wood and equip it with new functions that will broaden the range of applications for wood. Together with Tanja Zimmermann, the current head of Empa's "Functional Materials" department, Ingo Burgert has already created astonishing wooden objects in the "Vision Wood" unit of the NEST experimental building, such as door handles made of antimicrobial wood, mineralized wood for improved flame resistance, or a pin board made of magnetized wood. The most recent research findings now open up new possibilities: "We have found a way of significantly improving the mechanical properties of wood and at the same time making it even easier to equip it with new properties," says Bürgert.