Abstract:

Cellulose nanofibril (CNF) is a novel nanofiber with diameter less than 100 nm and composed of fibrils and fibril aggregations, which is disintegrated from native fiber by using high speed-and-pressure mechanical shear, or a combination of both chemical (or enzymatic) pretreatment and mechanical fibrillation. Excepting abundance, renewability and biodegradation, CNF possesses other outstanding advantages such as excellent mechanical properties, well light transparency, large surface area and high reactivity, and becomes to one of the study hotpots in biomass nanomaterials. In this paper, on the basis of comparing the major cellulose nanofibers family, the development and study progress, process and preparation, performance evaluation and potential application of CNF were summarized and reviewed, and some suggestions on where the filed is likely to advance in future were discussed. This may provide a reference for promoting our further study in cellulose nanofibers.

Key words: cellulose nanofibril, process and preparation, performance evaluation, potential application, study progress