To realize a low-carbon society, the effective utilization of biomass is essential, particularly the abundant woody biomass. Cellulose nanofiber (CNF) is a fibrous material produced by refining cellulose, the main component of plant cell walls, down to the nanometer scale. CNF possesses excellent properties—it is stiff, strong, and highly resistant to thermal deformation—being one-fifth the weight of steel while five times stronger.
When CNF is compounded with plastics, it can significantly enhance their strength. Compared to existing plastic reinforcement materials, CNF has the advantage of being derived from a renewable resource. My research focuses on using CNF as a reinforcing fiber for plastics. By incorporating CNF, we can not only improve the performance of plastics but also reduce the consumption of petroleum-derived plastics through the production of thinner, stronger films, thereby contributing to a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
Educational approach
Characterizing the Physical Properties of CNF-based Materials through Experimental and Computational Science T
He use of biomass is crucial for realizing a low-carbon society. My research focuses on developing materials using cellulose nanofiber (CNF), which is produced from abundant woody biomass.
CNF is a fibrous material created by breaking down cellulose—the primary component of plant cell walls—to a nanoscale width. CNF has excellent properties; it's stiff, strong, and resistant to thermal expansion. Its properties are comparable to industrially used reinforcing materials like carbon fiber, glass fiber, and aramid fiber, which are widely used in aerospace, automotive, medical, and construction applications. As a result, using CNF as a reinforcing agent for resins has attracted significant attention. Compared to existing reinforcing materials, CNF has the advantage of being a reproducible resource.
In my research, I use CNF as a reinforcing fiber for resins. I also use a theoretical approach with computational science to investigate the relationship between the structure and physical properties of CNF. My goal is to understand how the nanoscale molecular structure of CNF governs the properties of the final material.
Vision for industry-academia collaboration
Uniform CNF/Resin Composites via Aqueous Processing
To realize a low-carbon society, we are developing new materials using cellulose nanofiber (CNF), particularly focusing on CNF as a reinforcing fiber for resins. CNF is a fibrous material obtained by refining cellulose—the main component of plant cell walls—down to the nanometer scale. It exhibits excellent properties such as stiffness, high strength, and low thermal expansion. These properties are comparable to those of carbon fibers, glass fibers, and aramid fibers, which are widely used as industrial reinforcement materials in aerospace, automotive, medical, and civil engineering applications. Consequently, research on the use of CNF as a reinforcing material for resins has recently attracted considerable attention.
Generally, achieving uniform composites of CNF and resins is difficult. However, I have succeeded in developing a method that utilizes the aqueous dispersion state of CNF to achieve homogeneous composite formation without the use of organic solvents. Unlike conventional methods, where CNF is directly mixed with bulk resins, this approach first uniformly combines CNF with resin monomers (liquid) in water to form an emulsion, followed by polymerization of the monomers into resin. This method applies suspension/emulsion polymerization techniques commonly used in industry.
Through this technique, the development of environmentally friendly CNF-based resin composite materials is expected to advance significantly.
