Capitalizing on recent work from two groups, L. Hu et al. from the University of Maryland, USA (Adv. Mater. 2016, 28, 5181) and L. Berglund et al. from the KTH in Sweden (Biomacromolecules 2016, 17, 1358), this latest work involves using methyl methacrylate (MMA) which has been enriched with luminescent quantum dots (QDs) to fill the pores in the wood and then polymerizing the MMA.

Si and CdSe QDs are used and under blue/UV excitation the materials exhibited diffused red and green luminescence, respectively. The researchers point out that these luminescent transparent wood nanocomposites offer interesting possibilities for applications that can benefit from their unique structural and optical properties. Examples would be furniture for general lighting or luminescent solar concentrators for building integration, where the proven mechanical strength of this transparent wood is a clear advantage. The nontoxicity and material abundance of Si QDs could enable sustainable and large-scale manufacturing of this new luminescent material.