Understanding wood-water interaction is crucial to predict and possibly manipulate dimensional changes and degradation of structural wood (Sandberg 2017; Thybring 2021; Thybring 2018). Raman Spectroscopy (RS) has been used with success to image wood cell chemistry at the micro-scale, but always with the specimens either in the wet or dry state (Gierlinger 2018; Gierlinger 2007). In this work, we introduce a novel moisture chamber (Figure 1d) for RS to map the chemistry of wood specimens under controlled relative humidity (RH) and a statistical method to analyse Raman absorbance bands for moisture conditioned samples. The moisture system, used in combination with D2O and scanning RS and a bespoke statistical analysis, provides a promising tool for reliable and non-invasive chemical imaging of moisture within thin wood specimens in a range of hygroscopic states.
Keywords: wood-water interactions, heavy water, Raman micro-spectroscopy, moisture, chamber, acetylated wood, modified wood, hygroscopic range
Authors
Andrea Ponzecchi
University of Copenhagen, IGN, Bioresource Chemistry and Technology Group, Rolighedsvej 23, DK-1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
Emil Engelund Thybring
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Maria Fredriksson
Lunds universitet, Sweden
Ramunas Digaitis
Malmö University, Sweden
Lisbeth Garbrecht Thygesen
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Sara Piqueras Solsona
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