Abstract
Cellulose nanofiber (CNF) is a renewable material obtained from inedible biomass, such as wood and herbaceous plants, and has superior features such as light weight, high strength, high elasticity, low thermal expansion, and high specific area. Therefore, extensive studies on CNF have been in progress in Japan and other countries. While CNF shows superior characteristics mentioned above, it is difficult to obtain homogeneous composites of CNF and hydrophobic resins due to CNF's hydrophilic and water absorbing characters. Some chemical modifications on the surface of CNF are needed to be widely used in many industrial areas. We have been developing some chemically modified CNFs based on our paper-making chemical technologies. A hydrophobicized CNF surface-treated of with a specific reagent, which has both a cellulose reactive group and a hydrophobic group showed improved dispersibility in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) matrix. The obtained composites showed higher in tensile strength, flexural strength, and elastic modulus, and lower lineathermal expansion coefficient compared with that of none-surface treated CNF. In this article, we describe application of modified CNFs to fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites and formed resins.
