Development and characterisation of multi-form composite materials based on silver nanoclusters and cellulose nanocrystals

Abstract

Supramolecular self-assembly, based on non-covalent interactions, has been used as an effective method to obtain various functional materials. In this work, a water soluble atomically precise Ag NCs(NH4)9[Ag9(C7H4SO2)9] (Ag9-NCs, [Ag9(mba)9], H2mba = 4-mercaptobenzoic acid) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were used to prepare supramolecular hydrogels by self-assembly, and these hydrogels have been characterized by using various techniques. The results revealed that the strong hydrogen bonds between the Ag9-NCs and CNCs were formed, and the strong interaction enhanced the mechanical properties, heat stability and self-healing ability of the nanocomposites. Moreover, the prepared Ag9-NCs/CNCs cryogels have shown excellent characteristics of low density and high compressive stress and it was found that the Ag9-NCs/CNCs films doped with Ag9-NCs still maintained the chiral nematic structure of the cellulose matrix. By preparing multiple forms of excellent Ag9-NCs/CNCs composite materials, it can be expected that they can be used in various application fields, such as the fields of biomedicine, support materials, and optoelectronics.