Scalable, highly transparent paper with microsized fiber

A product comprising:

• a paper comprising a plurality of wood fibers,
• wherein the paper has an optical transparency of at least 90% and an optical haze of at least 50%,
• wherein the plurality of wood fibers have been subjected to a chemical treatment such that carboxyl groups are introduced into cellulose of the wood fibers,
• wherein, prior to the chemical treatment, each wood fiber comprises primary and secondary cell wall layers of microfibrils surrounding a central portion, each secondary cell wall layer having microfibrils therein arranged in parallel, and
• wherein, after the chemical treatment, each wood fiber has a length of 100 μm to 1000 μm and the parallel arrangement of microfibrils in each secondary cell wall layer is maintained.

A method comprising:

• (a) subjecting wood pulp in solution to a chemical treatment, the wood pulp comprising a plurality of wood fibers, the chemical treatment being such that carboxyl groups are introduced into cellulose of the wood fibers;
• and
• (b) after (a), forming the chemically-treated wood fibers into a paper having an optical transparency of at least 90% and an optical haze of at least 50%,
• wherein, prior to (a), each of the wood fibers in the wood pulp comprises primary and secondary cell wall layers of microfibrils surrounding a central portion, each secondary cell wall layer having microfibrils therein arranged in parallel, and
• wherein, after (a), each of the wood fibers has a length of 100 μm to 1000 μm and the parallel arrangement of microfibrils in each secondary cell wall layer is maintained.