Hydrostable reconstructed wood with transparency, Excellent ultraviolet-blocking performance, and photothermal conversion ability

Natural wood has been used as building components for thousands of years due to its abundance, high mechanical strength, and durability. However, suboptimal mechanical performance, moisture sensitivity, and inferior optical performance have severely limited its further development and application prospects. Herein, we fabricated a novel full-wood material based on process of delignification, TEMPO-oxidation, in situ lignin deposition, and densification. The resulting reconstructed wood exhibited excellent optical properties, including ultraviolet-blocking, visible-light transparency, and photothermal conversion ability. Moreover, the densified structure integrated the high mechanical strength (high longitudinal tensile strength of 196.8 MPa and Young's modulus of 24.5 GPa) with significantly high resistance to water. The novel concept of reconstructed wood proposed in this study provides new horizons and design guidance for applications in green energy-efficient buildings, photothermal conversion apparatus, decorative materials, and optical devices. • Cellulose scaffold is extracted from wood by delignification/TEMPO-aided oxidation. • Lignin is in situ deposited in cellulose scaffold to fabricate reconstructed wood. • The reconstructed wood exhibits high mechanical strength and good water resistance. • The composites also show UV shielding, transparency, and photothermal conversion.