Infrared Studies of Wood Weathering. Part II: Hardwoods

Abstract

Four different hardwoods—yellow poplar, quaking aspen, white oak, and hard maple—have been subjected to a range of artificial weathering conditions, and their surfaces monitored with the use of diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy. The first two species show a weathering pattern rather similar to that of softwoods, whereas the latter two are more resistant to the effects of light and water. The differences in wood density are thought to be significant in the different behavior of the woods towards weathering, in addition to any contributing effects that might be caused by a variation in the overall chemical composition. After 2400 hours of full artificial weathering, all traces of lignin seem to have been removed from the surfaces of all four woods.