Future technologies: in the United States created a "nanowood"

Scientists at the University of Maryland (USA) have developed a material with unique properties. Deprived of the lingin "Nanodrevesin", as the scientists called the material, in fact consists of thin channels, the air through which moves only in one direction, while heat transfer in the transverse plane is almost impossible.





The manufacture of new material is quite expensive, but it is not too difficult and resembles paper production. First, the wood is boiled in a mixture of hydroxide and sodium sulfide, after which the softened lingin and hemicellulose are removed using hydrogen peroxide. Then the resulting loose and porous mass is pressed and paper is obtained. However, scientists went even further and subjected it to dry freezing, having received the very nanowood.

The finished material is much lighter than wood, bright white in color, which gives it excellent reflective properties, and the microchannel structure is extremely durable and can withstand a crushing load 30 times higher than that of polystyrene foam. With proper use, it is possible to direct warm air to any point in the structure, while eliminating its release into the environment, which makes nanowood an excellent material for thermal insulation.



However, the material is not at all perfect - it burns excellently, biodegrades well, and, besides, it seems to have a high cost price, although it is very difficult to evaluate this factor from a prototype.