Stimuli Responsive Crystalline Nanocellulose (CNC) and Microcrystalline Cellulose (MCC)

加拿大的林业雇佣了14万多人，为国家GDP贡献了近200亿美元。虽然林业长期以来一直是加拿大制造业的重要组成部分，但由于全球市场竞争日益激烈，其产品利润率下降，林业正面临严重的经济压力。在过去十年中，该行业在就业和产品价值方面都大幅萎缩。木材产品的创新被视为振兴加拿大森林工业的关键，特别是开发具有新特性的产品，这些产品目前还不存在，可以使我们的制造商在全球市场上具有竞争优势。FPInnovations与皇后大学的研究人员合作，设计了一种新型纳米材料“结晶纳米纤维素”的“智能”或刺激响应版本，该材料可以应用于一系列产品和市场领域，包括纳米复合材料，涂料，清漆和用作阻隔材料和安全纸的彩虹色薄膜。结晶纳米纤维素，或CNC，是一种新的纳米材料，目前正在开发的商业化。加拿大是CNC商业化的领先者，而FPInnovations是2011年开业的世界上第一个示范工厂的合作伙伴。这项研究合作将使CNC变得“智能”，能够仅使用二氧化碳和空气作为触发器来显示其化学和物理特性的巨大变化。目前还没有这样的产品，因此存在为加拿大工业提供显着优势的机会。 我们还将开发一种“智能”刺激响应微晶纤维素（MCC）。MCC是纤维素的常规形式，广泛用于许多产品中。我们的刺激响应型微晶纤维素将为产品差异化和拓展新市场提供机会。这项研究给加拿大带来的好处是非同寻常的。我们的研究将帮助加拿大林业应对新产品创新的挑战，并为他们提供训练有素的科学家，使加拿大公司保持竞争力。

Canada's forest industry employs over 140,000 people and contributes nearly $20B to the national GDP. Although it has long been a prominent part of Canada's manufacturing sector, the forestry industry is facing severe economic pressures due to an increasingly competitive global marketplace and declining margins for its products. In the past decade, the industry has shrunk significantly in terms of both employment and value of its products. Innovations in wood products are seen as the key to revitalizing Canada's forest industry, especially the development of products with new properties, not currently in existence, that could give our manufacturers a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. FPInnovations has partnered with researchers at Queen's University to design a "smart" or stimuli-responsive version of a new nanomaterial, "crystalline nanocellulose", that could find applications in a range of products and market sectors including nanocomposites, coatings, varnishes, and iridescent films for use as barrier materials and security paper. Crystalline nanocellulose, or CNC, is a new nanomaterial currently being developed for commercialization. Canada is a leading player in CNC commercialization, and FPInnovations is a partner in the world's first demonstration plant that opened in 2011. The research collaboration will make CNC that is "smart", capable of exhibiting dramatic changes in its chemical and physical properties using only carbon dioxide and air as triggers. There is currently no such product in existence, and therefore an opportunity exists to give Canadian industry a significant advantage. We will also develop a "smart" stimuli-responsive microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). MCC is the conventional form of cellulose widely used in numerous products. Our stimuli-responsive microcrystalline cellulose will present an opportunity for product differentiation and expansion into new markets. The benefits to Canada of this research are exceptional. Our research will help the Canadian forestry industry address challenges in new product innovation as well as providing them with highly trained scientists with the skills required to keep Canadian companies competitive.