Transparent paper is made from plant cellulose Cellulose Nanofiber. The fineness of this fiber is only one ten thousandth of that of the hair. Too thin, so far it is difficult to process into a sheet. This transparent paper pulp accounted for 30% of raw materials, acrylic resin accounted for 70%. Transparent paper thickness of 50 to 200 microns (1 micron is one millionth of a meter), weight and thickness are similar to the general copy paper.
Although the thickness of the transparent paper is only one-50th of a millimeter, the strength is comparable to that of the fire service and is not easily swell even when heated. Therefore, the transparent paper can be used instead of the display glass of a tablet computer such as an iPad in addition to the illumination. Researchers have also developed transparent paper, but its technology to break down the fiber pulp was particularly thin, more difficult to manufacture, and the new transparent paper manufacturing process is relatively simple.
March 18, 2014 Japan's Prince Holding and Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation announced the successful development of transparent paper by making the plant fibers used to make the paper extremely thinner. The goal of both companies is to put it into practical use by 2016-2017. It is reported that the successful development of mass production of transparent paper is the first in the world.
Transparent paper has many uses. Researchers have been looking for alternative materials such as the glass substrates currently used in liquid crystal displays are heavy and easily damaged. The researchers believe that the development of the transparent paper is not only lighter but also easy to fold, if the conductive material coated on it, is expected to be used in the manufacture of LCD screens and lighting materials.