Influence of Post-extraction on Photostability of Thermally Modified Scots Pine Wood during Artificial Weathering

The photo-stabilizing effect of post-extraction was evaluated for thermally modified wood. Extracted and non-extracted thermally modified Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) samples were exposed in a xenon weather-ometer for 1008 h, and the surface color and chemical changes were characterized using a chroma meter, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results showed that: (1) the weight losses of thermally modified wood were higher than those of unmodified wood after extraction due to the leaching of some low molecular weight compounds that were generated during thermal modification; (2) the photodegradation of thermally modified wood during weathering was hindered by the presence of extractives; and (3) the color change during weathering was a little more severe in sapwood than in heartwood because more extractives were present in heartwood.