Evaluation of Elastic Modulus of Cellulose Nanofiber

Cellulose nanofiber (CNF) has attracted attention as an advanced biomass-type new material because it is lightweight and has high strength and possesses a variety of excellent functions, including a high gas barrier property, adsorption, and transparency. In the future, application of composites of CNF and automotive materials, electronic materials, and packaging materials is expected. In composite materials, it is important to select a CNF of the proper type and strength, as strength, weight, and other specifications of the composite must be optimized corresponding to the intended application. However, no method for evaluating the strength of nanometer-order individual CNF fibers in the development and production processes has been fully established.
This article introduces an example using measurement of the elastic modulus as a CNF strength evaluation method employing the scanning probe microscope (SPM/AFM).