Review of Wood Modification and Wood Functionalization Technologies

Wood modifications are becoming popular as a way to enhance the performance of wood, either to make it more durable, improve the performance of wood, or give it new functionality as a multifunctional or smart material. While wood modifications have been examined since the early 1900s, the topic has become a dominant area of study in wood science over the past decade. This review summarizes recent advances and provides future perspective on a selection of wood modifications, i.e., the methods that are currently commercialized (acetylation, furfurylation, and thermal modification), a rediscovered ancient practice (charring), a family of polymerization modifications that have so far made it to the pilot scale, and examples of novel wood-based functional materials explored at laboratory scale.