← Back to The Exilva Blog

Research review: new interesting applications for cellulose fibrils

Ole Martin Kristiansen | February 6, 2018

Within the field of nanocellulose and cellulose fibrils, there is an increasingly rapid pace of new developments, where the cellulose fibrils either appear on its own or as a part of an advanced relationship between several performance enhancers. Today I have collected two highly interesting, but very separate news articles for you, but where the common denominator is the ability to retrieve strength and performance from these types of materials. Enjoy!

Want to have supercapasitators in your clothes?

A group of scientists at the Nanyang Technology University has recently developed a specialized fabric-like source of power, which can be stretched and bent without losing its charging capabilities. The way they did this was to create the supercapasitator as a honeycomb structure, where manganese dioxide was reinforced with carbon nanotubes and nanocellulosic fibers. Thus, the structure built is giving an increased opportunity to place it in for instance clothing where there is a high-performance criteria for flexibility (like elbows, knees etc.).

The results the group is showing that the new stretchable supercapacitator gives increased performance by providing a more stable signal during movement. This is completely in line with the new internet-of-things (IoT) era where more of our wearings will be linked to the cloud. Wearable electronics can be incorporated into sports clothes to actively give you feedback on pace, and movement, providing you with alternatives to current tracking methods for instance.

 

Shoes made of (nano)cellulose?

The professor Pirjo Kääriäinen from the design department of the Aalto university in Finland is focusing on finding new source of materials in Finland, and the aim is to use these materials for commercial purposes. The team of Professor Kääriäinen is focusing on being able to produce strong and lightweight examples of quote: "camp stools, bicycles and shoes". She also believes that the nanocellulose and cellulose fibrils, alongside with other types of cellulose will replace the use of different plastics in interior design. Thus, it can lead to a more sustainable design of living rooms in the future.

From us at the Exilva blog, it can also be worthwhile mentioning that a lot of opinions regarding the nanocelluloses and cellulose fibrils, describes that it is more of a performance enhancer rather than the main component in a material. Thus, it might well may be that the nanocellulose and cellulose fibrils will be a small, invisible integral part of your product, but acting together with other new sustainable materials as well.

Want more reviews?

Previous Market & Research Reviews from the Exilva Blog:

Written by:

Ole Martin Kristiansen

Ole Martin is the Marketing Manager of Exilva in Borregaard. He holds a bachelor's degree in Media Management and has been with the company since 2017.