{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T09:24:21Z","timestamp":1787217861641,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787184000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Qing Lan Project and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province","award":["BK20201386"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BK20201386"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Polymers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Thermochromic wood coatings hold promising application prospects, yet conventional thermochromic microcapsules are limited by monotonous color transitions and non-environmentally friendly wall materials. In this study, two formaldehyde-free thermochromic microcapsules were prepared via spray drying using crystal violet lactone (CVL) and bisphenol A (BPA) as the core system, with chitosan\u2013syringaldehyde (SA-MCs, decyl alcohol as solvent, Schiff base crosslinking) and chitosan\u2013gum Arabic (GA-MCs, lauryl alcohol as solvent, electrostatic complex coacervation) as the wall materials, respectively. These microcapsules were incorporated into basswood ultraviolet (UV) coatings at mass fractions of 1%, 3%, 5%, 7%, and 9%. With increasing microcapsule content, the gloss of both coatings decreased progressively, roughness increased gradually, and the color-changing amplitude, expressed as the color difference (\u0394E), was continuously enhanced. At 9% addition, the SA-MC coating exhibited a moderate transition from light yellow to yellow-green (\u0394E = 7.2), while the GA-MC coating displayed a dramatic reversible change from deep blue to light gray (\u0394E = 42.4), both with good reversibility. In terms of mechanical properties, SA-MCs exhibited higher hardness, both systems achieved an impact resistance grade of 3, and GA-MCs demonstrated superior adhesion. After 24 h of short-term UV accelerated aging, GA-MCs still maintained a higher thermochromic response, albeit with more severe gloss loss. In summary, GA-MCs are superior in color-changing amplitude and adhesion, while SA-MCs offer advantages in gloss retention and hardness, providing a reference for material selection in the application of smart wood finishing.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/polym18162017","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T08:10:20Z","timestamp":1787213420000},"page":"2017","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Effects of Syringaldehyde\/Gum Arabic Composite Chitosan Thermochromic Microcapsules on the Coating Properties of Basswood Surface"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Wenjing","family":"Chang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China"},{"name":"College of Furnishings and Industrial Design, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jingyi","family":"Hang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China"},{"name":"College of Furnishings and Industrial Design, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaoxing","family":"Yan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Co-Innovation Center of Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China"},{"name":"College of Furnishings and Industrial Design, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"115534","DOI":"10.1088\/1402-4896\/ae1264","article-title":"Color simulation and temperature distribution characteristics of reversible color-changing composite materials for self-detection of power equipment temperature","volume":"100","author":"Dong","year":"2025","journal-title":"Phys. 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