A Simple and Efficient Method to Fabricate Superhydrophobic Wood with Enhanced Mechanical Durability

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

In my opinion, your research work would be quite interesting to the readers and can be considered in such high IF journal after a revision. I would like to highlight the following issues:

In the Introduction chapter, you referred "abundant hydroxyl groups on its surface". Hydroxyl groups are being found in the whole mass, therefore you could rephrase. 

In introduction: the phrase "resulting in the dimensional instability" seem not to be used in the proper way.

Introduction: The term "Wood superhydrophobic modification" seem also to need to be chacked again.

Introduction: What do you mean by the phrase "specific homogeneous materials". Do you refer to different wood species or other than wood materials?

Introduction: It would be helpful to the reader to have some information on the characteristics and results of the different chemical modification methods described (and not just mention the names of them)

Probably, in the title or the key words you could add the word "surface modification"

Materials-methods: Some information seem to be needed: Did you use sapwood, heartwood or both parts? why did you use this species? age of the tree used, number of different trees included in the sample? 

Materials: In some sentences you use present tense and in some of them past tenses.

Materials: You referred to the instruments without describing the method. Please add a few words why you have chosen to use these methods and provide also the standards you based on.

Give some details on the abrasion sandpaper you used.

I did not have access to the figures

Generally, your work was too briefly described. In my opinion, you could provide additional information of high importance, aiming at the comprehensiveness of the methods, in order to be able to be repeated by someone and aiming at the proper communication of your results. You could be more descriptive also in the presentation of the results and how they affect the final product. You did not provide in the results chapter, respective values from other previous research works on chemical modification methods, in order to have a comparison, which would be very helpful to the reader.

Conclusions: You should change them using more details on the results of the tests. I believe the conclusions chapter do not reflect the results and significance of your work and you should take a chance to interpret the results and combine them clearly with the utilization perspectives of this material.   

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Paper title:

A simple and efficient method to fabricate superhydrophobic wood with
enhanced mechanical durability

Journal: Forests

The paper work is a very interesting research effort in a topic which has a high importance.

I found the whole paper quite original, I should say.

I must also note that the technical English language of the paper text is almost excellent! The technical part of the work is well described. The means and technical approaches look extremely well applied. I have no comments on that.

However, in overall, I do recommend to the Editor: ACCEPT after some minor revision.

In specific:

1. The paper is challenging to the community because it proposes some new ideas based on new findings.

2. The authors should correct few grammatical errors that exist in the text.

3. Some relevant paper works, that have been published recently in the topic I suggest to the authors to include them in the References:

 

Fabrication of superhydrophobic wood surface by a sol–gel process

S Wang, C Liu, G Liu, M Zhang, J Li, C Wang - Applied Surface Science, 2011

Fabrication of a superhydrophobic surface on a wood substrate

S Wang, J Shi, C Liu, C Xie, C Wang - Applied Surface Science, 2011

Fabrication of mechanically durable superhydrophobic wood surfaces using polydimethylsiloxane and silica nanoparticles

H Chang, K Tu, X Wang, J Liu - Rsc Advances, 2015

Sandberg et al. (2017). Wood modification technologies - a review. iForest 10: 895-908

Papadopoulos A. and G. Mantanis, 2011. Surface treatment technologies applied to wood surfaces. FDM-Asia, May/June 2011, 23(4): 36-39

nanopartic lessilicalm provement  of dimensional stablity of wood by Ferenc Monlnar & Róbert NémethMiklós BaK, volume 14, 2019-Issue 1  wood Material Science and Engineering.

4. The Conclusions section can be improved, and be extended as well.

Thank you!

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The phrase "Fresh poplar" in the Materials chapter should be changed to "recently cut". 

Author Response

Point 1: The phrase “Fresh poplar” in the Materials chapter should be changed to “recently cut”.

Response 1: Thanks for your comments. I have revised this expression in the manuscript. Please check.