Facile and quick formation of cellulose nanopaper with nanoparticles and its characterization

Cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) is a suitable functional material as its lightweight, huge availability and biodegradable advantages. A direct-evaporation method was employed to prepare the CNF nanopapers with or without Fe 3 O 4 and TiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs) in the form of films, which is more facile and efficient in comparison with the methods of vacuum-filtration and cast drying. A combination of three-dimensional (3D) focal stacks and dual-energy imaging method was firstly used to characterize the CNF nanopapers embedded with Fe 3 O 4 and TiO 2 NPs, where the locations of the NPs can be clearly and exactly distinguished. Furthermore, the thickness, transparency, magnetism and tensile properties of the CNF nanopapers were characterized. This work shows a facile method for the preparation of CNF nanopapers with or without addition. More importantly, the combination of focal stacks and dual-energy imaging method offers a superior means of characterizing the spatial structures and 3D elemental visualization.