Surface Chemical Changes of Sugar Maple Wood Induced by Thermo-Hygromechanical (THM) Treatment.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of heat and steam on the chemical properties of thermo-hygromechanical (THM)-densified sugar maple wood. The THM densification process was performed at two different temperatures (180 °C and 200 °C) with and without steam. The functional groups, surface chemical composition and internal structure and components of the control and densified samples were investigated using attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopy and pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS).