Light source dependence of the photodegradation of wood

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine whether artificial ultraviolet (UV) light sources are able to imitate properly the photodegradation of wood caused by sunlight. In this study, wood specimens were irradiated with a xenon lamp and a mercury lamp. The xenon light simulated sunlight only in the case of long-term irradiation. The photoinduced yellowing of wood was faster and greater in the case of short-term exposure to xenon light than that caused by sunlight. The number of UV light-generated carbonyl groups absorbing infrared light around 1700 cm-1 showed good correlation with photoinduced yellowing. On the other hand, mercury light did not simulate sunlight. However, the mercury lamp, as a strong UV light emitter, can be applied to determine the valid limits of the Kubelka-Munk (K-M) equation. Our results show that the K-M equation cannot be applied to determine the absorption properties of the sample if the values of the K-M units exceed 50. © The Japan Wood Research Society 2005.