Explaining the heat capacity of wood constituents by molecular vibrations

TY - JOUR

T1 - Explaining the heat capacity of wood constituents by molecular vibrations

AU - Thybring, Emil Engelund

PY - 2014/2

Y1 - 2014/2

N2 - The heat capacity of wood and its constituents is important for the correct evaluation of many of their thermodynamic properties, including heat exchange involved in sorption of water. In this study, the dry state heat capacity of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin are mathematically described by fundamental physical theories relating heat capacity with molecular vibrations. Based on knowledge about chemical structure and molecular vibrations derived from infrared and Raman spectroscopy, heat capacities are calculated and compared with experimental data from literature for a range of bio-and wood polymers in the temperature range 5–370 K. A very close correspondence between experimental and calculated results is observed, illustrating the possibility of linking macroscopic thermodynamic properties with their physical nano-scale origin.

AB - The heat capacity of wood and its constituents is important for the correct evaluation of many of their thermodynamic properties, including heat exchange involved in sorption of water. In this study, the dry state heat capacity of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin are mathematically described by fundamental physical theories relating heat capacity with molecular vibrations. Based on knowledge about chemical structure and molecular vibrations derived from infrared and Raman spectroscopy, heat capacities are calculated and compared with experimental data from literature for a range of bio-and wood polymers in the temperature range 5–370 K. A very close correspondence between experimental and calculated results is observed, illustrating the possibility of linking macroscopic thermodynamic properties with their physical nano-scale origin.

U2 - 10.1007/s10853-013-7815-6

DO - 10.1007/s10853-013-7815-6

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0022-2461

VL - 49

SP - 1317

EP - 1327

JO - Journal of Materials Science

JF - Journal of Materials Science

IS - 3

ER -