Tools for Nanocellulose Particle Size Measurement

Dr. Robert Moon leads a research program addressing gaps in particle-size measurement capability of nanocellulose (NC) materials. This webinar will briefly summarize four tools for NC particle size measurement that are available or are under development:

1. SMART – a semi-automatic image analysis program for particle size measurement of length and diameter of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) or atomic force microscopy (AFM) images
2. nZADS is a simple-to-use instrument prototype for CNC length size distribution measurement. It will be cheaper, smaller lab footprint, and more accurate than traditional dynamic light scattering (DLS)
3. FACT a semi-automatic image analysis program for fibril width measurement of cellulose microfibrils (CMFs) & cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images
4. Interlaboratory Comparison Study for CMF/CNF particle size measurement via SEM techniques.

Robert J. Moon, Materials Research Engineer, Forest Biopolymer Science & Engineering, USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, WI

Areas of Expertise: 

• Processing-Structure-Property Relationships
• Hierarchical structure on properties
• Cellulose nanomaterials and nanotechnology
• Characterization & image analysis

Discipline:  Materials Science and Engineering

• BS in Metallurgical Engineering, University of Wisconsin - 1994
• MS in Metallurgical Engineering, Purdue University - 1996
• D in Materials Engineering, Purdue University - 2000

Experience:

• Adjunct Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology 2014-present
• Adjunct Professor, Purdue University - 2007-present
• Materials Research Engineer, USFS-FPL -  2005-present
• 1ARC Postdoctoral Fellow, UNSW, Australia - 2001-2005
• Postdoctoral Research Associate, UNSW, Australia - 2000-2001

Other Information:

• 2025 TAPPI NanoDivision Distinguished Scientist Award
• 2023 TAPPI Fellow
• 2021 TAPPI NanoDivision Leadership & Service Award
• 95+ publications in peer reviewed SCI ranked Journals & 3 patents
• 17,000+ Google Scholar citations with an h-index = 49.
• Highest Google cited article on cellulose nanomaterials (8000+ citations)
• See links for more info: Google Scholar, Research Gate