Measurement of Degree of Crystallinity of Cellulose Nanofiber

Introduction

Cellulose is a polysaccharide, a major component of plant cell walls. Among the types of nanocellulose produced by defibrating cellulose to the nanometer size, fiber with a width of 4 nm to 100 nm, length on the order of several μm, and a high aspect ratio (100 or more) is called cellulose nanofiber (CNF), and has attracted considerable attention as a leading-edge biomass new material. CNF is a lightweight, high strength material and possesses various outstanding functions such as a high gas barrier property, absorption, and transparency. Because CNF is plant-derived, it is also a low environmental impact material in production and waste disposal processes. Future applications are expected to include automotive components, electronic materials, and packaging materials. This application news introduces an example of measurement of the degree of crystallinity of CNF by X- ray diffraction.

December 21, 2018 GMT