Imagine sitting in the movie theatre, enveloped in complete darkness. The walls absorb every speck of light, immersing you fully in the cinematic experience. This sensory journey may soon be made possible by Nxylon (pronounced niks-a-lawn), a new material created by researchers from the UBC Faculty of Forestry that absorbs over 99 per cent of visible light.
Nxylon — named after a blend of Nyx, the Greek goddess of night, with xylon, meaning wood — was pioneered by PhD student Kenny Cheng and Dr. Phil Evans. It has captured the attention of industries from astronomy to jewellery, offering a more sustainable alternative to other super-black materials.
The discovery was the result of using high-energy plasma to treat basswood, a North American hardwood often used for hand-carving and musical instruments. After cutting and removing moisture from the wood, the team used a plasma reactor to modify the surface structure of basswood samples.
“At high energy, the surface was extremely black,” said Evans, a professor in the department of wood science.
Nxylon’s ability to absorb over 99 per cent of light is due to its unique surface structure, which prevents light from reflecting back. The material remains super-black even when coated with metals, a trait that distinguishes it from other black materials that rely on pigments.
The wood’s properties aren’t just limited to its colour. It’s lightweight, strong and pliable, opening up a wide range of commercial possibilities. Nxylon can be cut with precision and treated with resins to enhance its strength and durability.
This material is also more sustainable than other synthetic super-black materials, which can generate significant waste and use non-renewable metals. The lab has also experimented with European limewood, demonstrating the generalizability of creating Nxylon across different species.
The potential applications for Nxylon are vast. Its most immediate uses are in luxury goods such as watches and jewellery, where its super-black quality rivals precious materials like ebony and onyx. The lab has already produced prototype watch faces and jewellery pieces.
Beyond luxury goods, Nxylon has applications in a scientific scope. Super-black materials are essential in astronomy for reducing stray light in telescopes, thus improving image clarity. Nxylon could also be used in solar cells, enhancing their efficiency by minimizing light reflection.
One of the most exciting aspects of Nxylon is its scalability. The lab has considered developing a commercial plasma reactor to produce larger samples, which could be used for purposes like non-reflective ceiling tiles in home theatres or recording studios.
The team's work on super-black wood is part of a broader mission, which focuses on developing advanced forest products and replacing synthetic materials with more renewable, sustainable alternatives.
“Our projects are always independent and student-driven,” said Evans.
The lab also uses technology like virtual reality to explore the structure of wood at a microscopic level to further drive innovation.
“We use X-ray micro-computed tomography to image wood at micron resolution, create three-dimensional animations and then interact with it using VR headsets,” said Evans, allowing researchers to study wood in ways that were previously impossible.
While the exact mechanism behind Nxylon’s light absorption remains a mystery, the team is continuing to study its structure to unlock its full potential.
As the lab moves forward, there are plans to scale up Nxylon’s production and collaborate with jewellers, artists and tech product designers to bring Nxylon to the market in a wide array of products. This accidental discovery has not only opened new commercial avenues but has also breathed new life into forestry research, proving that the future of materials science may very well be rooted in the ancient trees around us.
“The key to a lot of discovery in science is that you actually do something different.”
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