Wood is one of the oldest construction materials, with usage dating back at least 1.5 million years. Since then, wood product utilization has evolved gradually. Given its abundance as a natural resource, wood is currently used in several other industries beyond construction, with an aggregate global consumption of 3.1 billion m 3 in 2022. Wood consumption is expected to grow 37% by 2050 according to UN reports, driven by anticipated increase in demand for wood in construction, 3,4 biofuels and other bio-material industries. Greater utilization for this renewable resource can be facilitated by a nanoscale understanding of wood polymers both individual and in a larger macrostructures. The major fraction of wood biomass is the secondary plant cell wall, a tightly interconnected assembly of lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose polymers which together strengthen the plant against microbial or fungal attack. Living plants have many approaches to keep pathogens at bay, but once used for human purposes, environmental and fungal degradation can no longer be repaired, and degrade wood properties. Chemical and physical treatments can modify the underlying wood structure to aid in preservation, enhancing durability of wood. One popular modification technique is acetylation, with ≈ 60,000 m 3 of acetylated wood produced globally. Wood cell walls are acetylated commercially by reacting wood with acetic anhydride, wherein some hydroxyl groups in the cell wall are replaced with acetyl group through a single reaction (Fig. ). Acetylated wood addresses several challenges encountered by commercial wood industry. Over 85% of wood decay failures have been reported to stem from brown rot fungi. The brown rot decay mechanism involves oxidation of Fe 2+ to Fe 3+ during the Fenton reaction and the diffusion of chelator-mediated Fenton (CMF) reagents. Thereafter, CMF reagents depolymerize hemicellulose and cellulose in the cell walls. High levels of wood acetylation lead to inhibition of brown rot decay, with the proposed mechanism suggested to be hindered diffusion of CMF reagents. Furthermore, acetylation also enhances the dimensional stability whilst improving the durability of wood to the highest durability class ('class 1'). In addition, acetylation increases wood hardness by 15% to 30%, and reduces moisture content and polysaccharide-water interactions. Thus, the improved durability of acetylated wood makes it an exceptional green construction material with CO 2 negative life-cycle-analysis over full-life-cycle, and a highly attractive biomaterial for a burgeoning bioeconomy.