Coming soon: Water-proof wood!

Atomic layer deposition – which is already frequently used in manufacturing micro-electronics for computers and cell phones – is now being explored for new applications such as wood.

Like pressure treatments, the process is performed in an airtight chamber, but in this case the chamber is at low pressures to help the gas molecules permeate the entire wood structure.

Pressure treating, which involves putting lumber inside a pressurized watertight tank and forcing chemicals into the boards, has been used for more than a century to help stave off the fungus that causes in wet environments.

Now researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a new method that could one day replace conventional pressure treating as a way to make lumber not only fungal-resistant but also nearly impervious to water.