FTIR-PAS study of light-induced changes in the surface of acetylated or polyethylene glycol-impregnated wood

The objective of this study was to characterize the surface changes in acetylated and polyethylene glycol (PEG)-impregnated wood caused during light irradiation by Fourier transformed infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy analysis to determine their effects on the reduction of light deterioration. Light irradiation made the color of the chemically modified wood lighter or more vivid, whereas it deepened the color of the untreated wood. The color difference during light irradiation was less in the chemically modified wood than the untreated wood. The color difference of PEG-impregnated wood increased with increasing irradiation time. The light irradiation generated much carbonyl and significantly degraded lignin in the untreated wood. The generation of carbonyl and lignin degradation diminished in the acetylated wood in comparison with the untreated wood, indicating that acetylation restrained the photochemical degradation of wood. Deacetylation did not occur during light irradiation of the acetylated wood. The PEG impregnation decreased the generation of carbonyl and degradation of lignin during light irradiation. However, the irradiation occurred a little photochemical degradation of PEG, generating the carbonyl. Therefore, longer light irradiation should increase the degradation of PEG, thus reducing the effect of treatment. The correlation between the color difference and lignin degradation was high, indicating that the color changes during light irradiation significantly depended on lignin degradation. The chemical modification reduced the degradation of lignin and consequently decreased the color difference. Some of the compounds containing the carbonyl generated during light irradiation were water-soluble.