| Summary: | Titanium dioxide (TiO<sub>2</sub>) is used as a UV light absorber to protect wood matter from photodegradation. In this paper, interactions between wood and TiO<sub>2</sub> coating are studied, and the efficiency of the coating is evaluated. For the experiments, two wood species were chosen: beech (<i>Fagus sylvatica</i>) and pine (<i>Pinus sylvestris</i>). Molecular and physical modifications in coated and uncoated wood exposed to UV radiation were investigated with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). UV-VIS spectroscopy was used to describe the absorption of UV light by the TiO<sub>2</sub> planar particles chosen for the experiment. It was demonstrated that TiO<sub>2</sub> coating protects wood against photodegradation to a limited extent. TEM micrographs showed fissures in the wood matter around clusters of TiO<sub>2</sub> particles in beech wood.
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