Emerging Nanomaterials: Opportunities and Challenges in Forestry Sectors

Bio-based materials, including those containing wood, will become increasingly important as we move to a bio-based economy. Among their many attributes, it is vitally important that these materials are renewable, sustainable with proper management and environmentally benign.  Wood remains one of our most important bio-based materials. While it is an amazing material, wood still has negative attributes and drawbacks that can affect performance, including dimensional instability when wetted, vulnerability to fire and high temperatures, and susceptibility to biodeterioration. A variety of treatments have been developed to overcome these weaknesses. Among the most exciting of these treatments are nanomaterials. These materials have some exceptionally attractive properties for improving timber performance and have been the subject of intensive research over the past decade. There is a tremendous need for a single comprehensive source of information on this rapidly emerging subject withtremendous potential to enhance the performance of a variety of bio-based materials. This book contains 10 chapters, each compiled by different author(s) who are considered the top researcher(s) in their respective fields. The chapters begin with some basic background on nanomaterials and their synthesis, then explore different areas for potential applications and conclude with a review of the emerging questions about nanomaterial safety. The book is designed to provide the latest information and know-how on application and utilization of different nanomaterials to improve the properties of wood and wood-based composite panels. The contents cover some main topics in the industry including improving physical and mechanical properties, increasing resistance to biodegradation (including fungi and insects), developing wood-plastic composites (WPC), applying nanomaterials in paper and board industry, and emergence of transparent wood and radiation shielding. It also covers the use of nanomaterials to improve the performance of paints and finishes used for forest products. The book provides a single location for those interested in the field to begin.

Hamid R. Taghiyari main area of expertise is fluid flow and permeability in wood and wood-based composites, wood modification techniques, and utilization of nanomaterials in wood and wood-based composites. He has intensively worked on the effects of different nanomaterials on properties of solid wood (different species), and composite panels as well, over the last two decades. The nanomaterials he worked with started with nanometals (including silver, copper, zinc oxide); soon he turned to minerals as they are more abundant, cheaper, and with lower environmental hazards. The results of his studies have been published in a wide range of academic journals. He had the privilege of mentoring over 40 post-graduate students, mainly on utilization of nanomaterials to improve different properties in solid wood, and wood-based composite panels as well, including physical and mechanical properties, fire retardants, and biological durability against wood-deteriorating fungi and insects.

Jeffrey J. Morrell holds BSc and PhD degrees form the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Forest Biology and Forest Pathology and Mycology, respectively, as well as an MSc from Pennsylvania State University in Plant Pathology (nematology).  He has over 40 years of experience in the field of wood science concentrating on durability.  His research has spanned the field from understanding the fungal sequences during decay to the use of various chemicals to minimize fungal attack and ultimately to the movement and fate of preservatives, especially in aquatic environments.  He has been fortunate to mentor over 50 post-graduate students.  He is currently Director of the National Centre for Timber Durability and Design Life at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Brisbane, Australia and is actively engaged in research related to enhancing the performance of cellulosic materials.

Azamal Husen served asProfessor & Head, Department of Biology, University of Gondar, Ethiopia and is a Foreign Delegate at Wolaita Sodo University, Wolaita, Ethiopia. He specializes in biogenic nanomaterial fabrication and application, plant responses to environmental stresses and nanomaterials at the physiological, biochemical and molecular levels, herbal medicine, and clonal propagation for improvement of tree species, and has published over 175 research articles. He is contributed to R&D projects of World Bank, ICAR, ICFRE, JBIC etc. He is on the advisory board of Cambridge Scholars Publishing, UK. Husen has been on the Editorial Board and the panel of reviewers of several reputed journals. He is a Fellow of the Plantae group of the American Society of Plant Biologists, and a Member of the International Society of Root Research, Asian Council of Science Editors, and INPST. He is Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Plant Physiology, and a Series Editor of Exploring Medicinal Plants (Taylor & Francis Group, USA); Plant Biology, Sustainability, and Climate Change (Elsevier, USA); and Smart Nanomaterials Technology (Springer Nature, Singapore).