Transparent wood is an attractive structural material for energy-saving buildings due to its high optical transmittance, good thermal insulation, and high toughness. However, thick highly transparent wood is challenging to realize. In the current work, highly transparent wood (1.5 mm) with a transmittance of 92%, close to that of pure PMMA (95%), is demonstrated. The high transmittance was realized by interface manipulation through acetylation of wood template. Both experiments and electromagnetic modeling support that the improved transmittance is mainly due to elimination of interface debonding gap. By applying this method, a centimeter-thick transparent wood structure was obtained. The transparent wood could be used as a substrate for an optically tunable window by laminating a polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) film on top. The techniques demonstrated are a step towards the replacement of glass in smart windows and smart buildings.

中文翻译：

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通过界面操作可达到厘米厚的透明木材†

透明木材具有高透光率，良好的隔热性和高韧性，是节能建筑的诱人结构材料。但是，要实现厚厚的高度透明的木材具有挑战性。在当前的工作中，展示了具有92％的透射率的高透明木材（1.5毫米），接近纯PMMA（95％）的透射率。高透射率是通过木材模板的乙酰化进行界面处理而实现的。实验和电磁建模均支持透射率的提高主要是由于消除了界面剥离间隙。通过应用该方法，获得了厘米厚的透明木结构。通过在顶部层压聚合物分散的液晶（PDLC）膜，可以将透明木材用作光学可调窗的基材。