FAÇADE project

Façades play crucial roles in the building safety, comfort, and aesthetics. As an envelope for buildings, they are in constant interaction with outside environment. Ultraviolet (UV) solar radiation absorbed by lignin – constituting up to 40% of wood – initiates the weathering of wood. The weathering process induces colour changes, surface fibres to loosen and erode, allowing humidity to penetrate in depth in wood, and causing checks and a raised grain. It is therefore crucial to limit the weathering effects that can then lead to deterioration of wood by using coatings to protect its surface.

UV absorbers enhance the durability of wood outdoors by absorbing incident radiation and by converting it into heat, which is then dissipated. Carbon-based materials are potential UV stabilizers thanks to combined effects of physical screen, UV absorbance, and radical trap.

Bio-carbon is a carbon-based product obtained from thermal decomposition of organic materials at elevated temperatures. Organic materials can be wastes from the agricultural or forest industries, with currently little or no economic value. Bio-carbon presents a wide range of properties that can be tailored by the manufacturing process.

The FACADE project proposes to develop a competitive sustainable bio-sourced anti-UV coating to protect wooden façades, using bio-carbon as UV-stabilizer. The FACADE project tackles challenging concepts with innovative solutions and is expected to provide breakthroughs for advancing the use of bio-carbon in new applications and proving a fundamental understanding of the UV protection mechanisms of nanoscale carbon particles.