Adhesive behavior study between cellulose and borosilicate glass using colloidal probe technique

Cellulose-glass fiber hybrid composites have been introduced to introduce weight and price benefits compared to glass composites. However, the interactions between glass and cellulose have not been extensively studied. Understanding the interactions between these two materials will help to improve the mechanical properties of the cellulose hybrid composites. In this paper, by employing the colloidal probe technique, we investigated the interaction forces between glass and cellulose material. A silicon probe with a borosilicate glass microsphere attached as the probe tip was implemented into an atomic force microscope (AFM) to complete the task. Cellulose membranes were used as experiment samples. By pressing and releasing the colloidal probe against the cellulose membrane, the adhesion force and the adhesion energy were directly obtained through the measurements. The interfacial energy was revealed by applying the Johnson-Kendall-Roberts (JKR) model, and a theoretical calculation of the material stiffness was conducted.