Characterization of fungal degraded lime wood by FT-IR and 2D IR correlation spectroscopy

The action of soft-rot fungus Chaetomium globosum has been studied. The decayed lime wood samples were observed for different periods of exposure. The degree of decay was determined by weight loss which was of 50.4% after 133 days. The samples were analyzed by FT-IR and 2D IR correlation spectroscopy.The intensity bands assigned to different vibrations from cellulose and hemicelluloses show a decrease, while the intensities of the bands assigned to C–O vibrations due to the formation of oxidized structures increase. At the same time, the intensity of the band assigned to C–O in metoxyl groups from lignin shows a decrease with increasing exposure time. The differences between reference and decayed wood spectra were examined in detail using 2D correlation spectroscopy and the second derivative analysis for two exposure time periods — of 0–70 days and 70–133 days. The formation of reactive species due to oxidation reactions induced by enzymes and the demethoxylation of the lignin structure was evidenced.