AbstractResults of a preliminary study of the surface of wood exposed to outdoor weathering as well as to UV irradiation showed that ESCA provides valuable information and insight into the manifestation of weathering and photooxidation. From the ESCA spectra, the increase in signal intensities of carbon–oxygen bonds and oxygen–carbon–oxygen bonds (or unsaturated carbon oxygen bond) and oxygen‐to‐carbon ratio, and the decrease in carbon–carbon and carbon–hydrogen bonds of weathered and UV‐irradiated wood surfaces suggested that wood surface was oxidized. Nevertheless, it was a superficial effect. Only a slow oxidation was observed at 100 μm under the exposed wood surfaces. From the oxygen‐to‐carbon ratio data, it revealed that weathered wood surface was rich in cellulose, poor in lignin. The leached‐away degradation products from weathered wood surface accounted for the discrepancy between the ESCA line shapes of UV‐irradiated and
展开▼
