Glowing report from China-led study into wood’s fake-fighting potential

Chinese and British scientists have found a way to make wood samples glow after exposure to UV light

The researchers say treated wood powder could be blended into paper or thread as an anti-counterfeit mark

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Scientists have found a way to process common woods like peach, rubber and a camellia native to China to produce an afterglow after UV exposure. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 5:00pm, 24 Sep 2022Updated: 5:50pm, 24 Sep 2022

A team of scientists in China and Britain has developed a way to make natural wood glow after exposure to ultraviolet light, creating a potential new weapon in the fight against fakes.

Using commonly available chemical solutions, the scientists treated wood samples to achieve a brief green afterglow.

Some of the study’s results, showing treated wood in normal light, as well as during and after exposure to ultraviolet lighting. Photo: Handout

If turned into a powder, the treated wood could be blended into paper or thread as an anti-counterfeit mark to protect documents or branded goods, such as handbags, according to lead scientist Chen Zhijun, a professor with the college of materials science and engineering at the Northeast Forestry University in Harbin.

“If we blend the wood powder into paper for government or confidential documents, an extra material that does not cause harm to the environment, we can distinguish fake documents from real ones from the green glow,” Chen said.

“The same goes for branded goods with embroidery or logos sewn from the special thread,” he said, adding that the afterglow – which lasts one to two seconds after each exposure – can be activated with UV light for an unlimited number of times.

In addition to Chen’s university in China’s most northerly province Heilongjiang, the research team was drawn from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing Tech University and the University of Bath in Britain.