Canadian scientists from the University of British Columbia (UBC), led by Professor Philip Evans, accidentally discovered a super-black wood material called Nxylon during experiments on making wood more waterproof using high-energy plasma.
Nxylon can absorb over 99% of visible light, reflecting less than 1%, making it exceptionally black.
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The UBC-developed super-black wood inherently prevents light from escaping rather than depending on black pigments
(Photo: UBC Forestry/Ally Penders)
It is made predominantly from sustainable and renewable materials like basswood, American maple wood, and other softwoods found in North America and Europe, without using any chemical additives or producing harmful liquid waste during its production process.
Nxylon is potentially cheaper, harder, and easier to manufacture than Vantablack, as it is made from renewable wood rather than expensive carbon nanotubes.
Nxylon's unique structure, achieved by altering the surface layer of wood about 0.5 to 1 millimeter thick using high-energy plasma, traps light and prevents it from escaping, making it exceptionally black.
Nxylon is lightweight, hard, easy to cut into intricate shapes, and has a unique velvet texture. It can maintain its black color and conductivity even when coated with a gold layer, making it suitable for applications in astronomy, solar cells, precision optical instruments, watches, jewelry, and luxury items, potentially replacing rare black woods like ebony and rosewood.
The researchers aim to develop a commercial-scale plasma reactor to produce larger samples of Nxylon and launch a startup, Nxylon Corporation of Canada.
The study on Nxylon was published in the journal "Advanced Sustainable Systems."
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq
Sources: ScienceDaily, Gazeta, Technoc, Descopera, El Español, EurekAlert!, Scienmag, Phys.org, New Atlas.