Intelligent designs from nature: Biomimetic applications in wood technology

Biological systems, adapted through millions of years of evolution with various functional tradeoffs, have emerged as a crucial source of inspiration for the design of advanced functional materials. Wood, with its unique structure and remarkable properties, is particularly promising for bio-inspired materials design. This review examines recent progress in the development of bioinspired wood products that imitate the structures of natural organisms with specialized functions by integrating advanced technologies such as nanotechnology, molecular biology, interfacial chemistry, and physical modeling. From a bio-inspired perspective, an understanding of natural phenomena serves as the basis for fabricating a broad spectrum of wood-based bioinspired smart materials with diverse functions and structures through rational material composition and structural design. The science of bio-inspired wood provides new concepts, designs, and compositions for a range of wood processing techniques, including chemical, physical, and biological processing, to confer new functions or intelligent responsiveness to wood.