Photocatalytic wood window for the removal of indoor urea pollution

Indoor pollution is a major health issue. In particular, urea pollution is drawing significant attention. Herein, we designed functional wooden window with the unique ability to photocatalytically degrade indoor pollutants, specifically urea. The transparent wooden window has been prepared via one-pot hydrothermal polymerization on a chemical-treated wood in order to incorporate resorcinol–formaldehyde. A hybrid wood denoted as resorcinol–formaldehyde-wood composite capable of photocatalytically degrading urea has been obtained. Mechanism study shows that the urea is degraded on composite interface via the as-formed hydroxyl radicals (·OH) generated from hydrogen peroxide. Further employing a large-scale (150 mm × 200 mm) resorcinol–formaldehyde-wood window for control of toilet urea pollution, a 100% urea removal efficiency was achieved in less than one hour.