Can you imagine a smartphone with a wooden touchscreen? Or a house with wooden windows? Probably not — unless you’ve heard of transparent wood.
Can you imagine a smartphone with a wooden touchscreen? Or a house with wooden windows? Probably not — unless you’ve heard of transparent wood. Made by modifying wood’s natural structure, this material has been proposed as a sturdy, eco-friendly plastic alternative. But wood’s biodegradability is often sacrificed in the process. Researchers are hoping to change that by creating transparent woods from almost entirely natural materials and making them electrically conductive.
The researchers will present their results at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS Spring 2025 is being held March 23-27; it features about 12,000 presentations on a range of science topics.
“In the modern day, plastic is everywhere, including our devices that we carry around. And it’s a problem when we reach the end of that device’s life. It’s not biodegradable,” explains Bharat Baruah, a professor of chemistry at Kennesaw State University and the presenter of this research. “So, I asked, what if we can create something that’s natural and biodegradable instead?”
Read more at American Chemical Society
Image: This slice of semi-transparent wood is made with natural materials and could be used in applications from wearable sensors to energy-efficient windows. (Credit: Bharat Baruah)
