Nanostructure and physical properties of cellulose nanofiber-carbon nanotube composite films

Akira Yamakawa; Shiho Suzuki; Takeshi Oku; Kenta Enomoto; Motohide Ikeda; Joseph Rodrigue; Keita Tateiwa; Yoshinobu Terada; Hiroyuki Yano; Shinichi Kitamura

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.05.012

Nanostructure and physical properties of cellulose nanofiber-carbon nanotube composite films

Carbohydr Polym. 2017 Sep 1:171:129-135. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.05.012. Epub 2017 May 4.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, 1-1 Gakuen-cho, Naka-ku, Sakai, 599-8531, Japan.
² Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University, Gokasho, Uji, 611-0011, Japan.
³ Institute of Health Sciences, Ezaki Glico Co., Ltd, 4-6-5 Utajima, Nishiyodogawa-ku, Osaka 555-8502, Japan.
⁴ Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, 1-1 Gakuen-cho, Naka-ku, Sakai, 599-8531, Japan. Electronic address: skita@bioinfo.osakafu-u.ac.jp.

PMID: 28578946
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.05.012

Abstract

We studied the nanostructure and physical properties of cellulose nanofiber-multi-walled carbon nanotube (CNF-MWNT) composite films prepared via MWNT aqueous dispersion using 4-O-methyl-α-d-glucuronoxylan as a MWNT dispersion aid. The composite film had high electrical conductivity (1.05S/cm), good mechanical properties (Young's modulus: 10.1GPa, tensile strength: 173.4MPa) and a low coefficient of thermal expansion (7ppm/K). FE-SEM imaging showed that the carbon nanotubes dispersed homogeneously and made reinforcing networks in the matrix of cellulose nanofibers. Improvement in the physical properties of cellulose nanofiber film by adding MWNTs is due to this composite structure.

Keywords: Cellulose nanofiber; Composite film; Glucuronoxylan; Multi-walled carbon nanotube.