2017 Volume 56 Issue 5 Pages 497-501
Kapok fiber is a natural half-transparent hollow tube with 18 and 20 micrometers of inner and outer diameter respectively and the hollow rate of 80% and over. We have tried to make paper sheets integrating Kapok fibers containing functional materials such as magnetic materials or chromic materials for anti-counterfeit or rewritable paper respectively. The making process of these functional paper sheets consist of including process of the functional material solution into kapok fiber's hollow part, and therefore the affinity among functional material, solvent and kapok fiber's inner wall is considered to be an important factor at the including process. In this present work, focusing on Hansen Solubility Parameter and work of immersion on the kapok fiber's inner wall as important factors, we examined optimum combinations of the solvents and surface treatments of the kapok fibers for the functional material's inclusion, using acethylation-treated kapok fibers and untreated kapok fibers.
