Protection of Wood to against Degradation by TiO<sub>2</sub>: Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy

External wooden structures have own place in the building industry for ages. The problem is that wood easily degrades due to UV radiation, atmospheric conditions and biological aggressors. We are trying to eliminate degradable factors by photocatalytic materials (namely titanium oxide). Those materials are efficient UV absorbers and they are able to destroy biological aggressors also. Nowadays, there is no information about the interactions between wooden surface and non-photoactive or photoactive forms of TiO 2 . TiO 2 exists in many morphological forms. The planar particles were chosen for the purpose of our research and applied on a wooden surface. The samples of wood (namely pine) were monitored for 255 days and subsequently evaluated using an electron microscope. The use of TiO 2 was compared with reference material and a reference commercial coating.