Self-assembled Cellulose Nanocrystals Research Articles

Enhanced Toughness and Thermal Stability of Cellulose Nanocrystal Iridescent Films by Alkali Treatment

Iridescent films constructed by self-assembly of rod-like cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are mechanically brittle and of poor thermal stability. Herein, we demonstrate that the toughness and thermal stability of vacuum filtered CNC iridescent films could be significantly improved by a simple alkali treatment. The results reveal that the NaOH treatment can simultaneously alter the condensed physical structure and surface chemical structure of CNCs in their liquid crystal state while the self-assembled CNC chiral nematic structure still well retained. To be specific, the CNC was transformed from a higher crystallinity of form I to a lower crystallinity of form II, and the sulfate groups of CNCs were erased by alkali treatment, resulting in the remarkable enhancement in mechanical and thermal properties of CNC iridescent films. Of note, the unprecedented improvements in both tensile strength and toughness of CNC iridescent film have been achieved by alkali treatment. A sandwiched model with interdigitated mol...

Physicochemical characterization of cellulose nanocrystal and nanoporous self-assembled CNC membrane derived from Ceiba pentandra

This research involves the rare utilisation of the kapok fibre (Ceiba pentandra) as a raw material for the fabrication of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) and self-assembled CNC membranes. The isolation of CNC from Ceiba pentandra began with the extraction of cellulose via the chemical alkali extraction by using 5wt% NaOH, followed by the typical acidified bleaching method and, finally, the CNC production through acid hydrolysis with 60wt% H2SO4 at the optimum time of 60min. The prepared CNC was then employed for the preparation of self-assembled membrane through the water suspension casting evaporation technique. The obtained CNC membrane was characterised in terms of its composition, crystallinity, thermal stability, as well as, structural and morphological features with the use of several techniques including FTIR, XRD, AFM, TEM, FESEM, and TGA. The FESEM and AFM analyses had illustrated the achievement of a self-assembled CNC membrane with a smooth surface and a well-distributed nano-porous structure, with the porosity of 52.82±7.79%. In addition, the findings proved that the self-assembled CNC membrane displayed good adsorption capability indicated by the recorded efficiency of 79% and 85% for 10mg/L and 5mg/L of methylene blue in an aqueous solution, respectively.

Flexible Photonic Cellulose Nanocrystal Films.

The fabrication of self-assembled cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) films of tunable photonic and mechanical properties using a facile, green approach is demonstrated. The combination of tunable flexibility and iridescence can dramatically expand CNC coating and film barrier capabilities for paints and coating applications, sustainable consumer packaging products, as well as effective templates for photonic and optoelectronic materials and structures.

Preparing cellulose nanocrystal/acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene nanocomposites using the master-batch method

The master-batch method provides a simple way to apply cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) as reinforcement in a hydrophobic matrix. The two-stage process includes making high-CNC content (70wt%) master batch pellets, then mixing acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene with the master batch pellets to prepare the ABS/CNC nanocomposite in extruder. SEM image indicates that self-assembled CNC nanosheets disperse evenly throughout the polymer matrix. The improved mechanical properties shown in tensile and DMA tests reveal that the CNC combines well with the ABS. TGA results show that the thermal degradation temperature of CNC in the master batch increases because of the protection of the ABS coating. This approach not only improves the dispersion ability and the thermal stability of CNC, but it is also applicable to use with other hydrophobic thermoplastics in industrial scale production.

Carbon nanofibers prepared by the carbonization of self-assembled cellulose nanocrystals

In this study, we fabricated fibrous carbon materials by using self-assembled cellulose nanocrystal fibers as the precursor. Cellulose nanocrystals at low concentrations, which were isolated from commercial microcystallline cellulose by a sulfuric acid treatment, were self-assembled into fibrous cellulose particles during the frozen process. After a stabilization process, the cellulose nanocrystal fibers were carbonized at 1,000 °C. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and wide-angle X-ray diffraction analysis were used to confirm the formation of amorphous carbon fibers from the cellulose nanocrystal fibers. Open image in new window

Chiral Plasmonic Films Formed by Gold Nanorods and Cellulose Nanocrystals

Chiral plasmonic films have been prepared by incorporating gold nanorods (NRs) in a macroscopic cholesteric film formed by self-assembled cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs). Composite NR-CNC films revealed strong plasmonic chiroptical activity, dependent on the photonic properties of the CNC host and plasmonic properties of the NRs. The plasmonic chiroptical properties of the composite films were tuned by changing the conditions of film preparation. The strategy presented herein paves the way for the scalable and cost-efficient preparation of plasmonic chiral materials.