Does wood burn better than charcoal?

First of all, wood can be broken down into three elements: carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. To create fire you need heat, fuel and oxygen. By providing the wood you have fuel and since it contains oxygen, you have that as well. By raising the heat of it enough, even in a vacuum you are eventually going to cause it to spontaneously combust before any of those elements melt. So in short wood cannot melt before it starts burning.