Unitika has been carrying forward their research and development on cellulose nanofiber reinforced nylon 6 resin. Although cellulose nanofiber is hydrophilic, Unitika’s technique enables it to uniformly spread into the resin, and therefore its features can be maximally brought out. Unitika sets a goal of its test sale to 2018, and aims to market it to be used as molding materials including foam molding, for the reasons that it is stable when injection molding, and also does not need to be painted when colouring to glossy black or other colours. A molded item hardly gets a scar on its surface and can be plated as well.

JCFA News Letter (No.14) June, 2017/Japan Chemical Fibers Association