Enhanced Alignment of Water-Soluble Polythiophene Using Cellulose Nanocrystals as a Liquid Crystal Template

Lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLC) are a kind of LCs far less known and more difficult to control than conventional thermotropic nematics. Nevertheless, LCLCs are a preferred option -often the only one- for applications where hydrophilic materials must be employed. Being water-soluble, LCLC can be used in numerous biology related devices, for example in target detection in lab-on-chip devices. However, their properties and procedures to align them are still less explored, with only a very limited number of options available, especially for homeotropic alignment. In this work, novel organic alignment layers and alignment properties have been explored for selected LCLCs. Non-conventional organic alignment layers were tested and new suitable procedures and materials for both homogeneous and homeotropic alignments have been found. Full Text: PDF ReferencesS.L. Hefinstine, O.D. Lavrentovich, C.J. Woolverton, "Lyotropic liquid crystal as a real-time detector of microbial immune complexes", Lett. Appl. Microbiol. 43, 27 (2006). CrossRef M.A. Geday, M. Ca-o-García, J.M. Escolano, E. Otón, J.M. Otón, X. Quintana, Conference on Liquid Crystals CLC'16, Poland (2016).M.A. Geday, E. Otón, J.M. Escolano, J.M. Otón, X. Quintana, Patent WO 2015193525 (2015). DirectLink Yu.A. Nastishin et al., "Optical characterization of the nematic lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals: Light absorption, birefringence, and scalar order parameter", Phys. Rev. E, 72 (4) 41711 (2005). CrossRef A. Mcguire, et al., "Orthogonal Orientation of Chromonic Liquid Crystals by Rubbed Polyamide Films", Chem. Phys. Chem. 15 (7) (2014). CrossRef J. Jeong, et al., "Homeotropic Alignment of Lyotropic Chromonic Liquid Crystals Using Noncovalent Interactions", Langmuir 30(10) 2914 (2014). CrossRef J.Y. Kim, H.-Tae Jung, "Macroscopic alignment of chromonic liquid crystals using patterned substrates", Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 18, 10362 (2016). CrossRef E. Otón, J.M. Escolano, X. Quintana, J.M. Otón, M.A. Geday, "Aligning lyotropic liquid crystals with silicon oxides", Liq. Cryst. 42 (8) 1069 (2015). CrossRef H.S. Park, et al., "Condensation of Self-Assembled Lyotropic Chromonic Liquid Crystal Sunset Yellow in Aqueous Solutions Crowded with Polyethylene Glycol and Doped with Salt", Langmuir 27, 4164 (2011). CrossRef H.S. Park, et al., "Self-Assembly of Lyotropic Chromonic Liquid Crystal Sunset Yellow and Effects of Ionic Additives", J. Phys. Chem. B 112, 16307 (2008). CrossRef R Caputo et al., "POLICRYPS: a liquid crystal composed nano/microstructure with a wide range of optical and electro-optical applications", J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt. 11, 024017 (2009). CrossRef

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Cellulose nanocrystals as a compatibilizer for improved miscibility of water‐soluble polymer binary blends

Journal of Applied Polymer Science ◽

10.1002/app.48662 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 137 (19) ◽

pp. 48662

Author(s):

Oleg V. Surov ◽

Marina I. Voronova ◽

Natalia V. Rubleva ◽

Andrei V. Afineevskii ◽

Anatoly G. Zakharov

Keyword(s):

Cellulose Nanocrystals ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Soluble Polymer ◽

Water Soluble Polymer ◽

Binary Blends

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Lyotropic liquid crystal to measure residual dipolar couplings in dimethyl sulfoxide based on modified cellulose nanocrystals

New Journal of Chemistry ◽

10.1039/c9nj06031f ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 44 (11) ◽

pp. 4262-4265 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Zong-Kai Ma ◽

Xiao-Yang Han ◽

Han Liu ◽

Jia-Cheng Ji ◽

Si-Yong Qin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Liquid Crystal ◽

Dimethyl Sulfoxide ◽

Cellulose Nanocrystals ◽

Residual Dipolar Couplings ◽

Organic Molecules ◽

Dipolar Couplings ◽

Lyotropic Liquid Crystal ◽

Modified Cellulose

A novel lyotropic liquid crystal was developed for the measurement of RDCs of organic molecules with no background signals.

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Strategies to Improve the Properties of Amaranth Protein Isolate-Based Thin Films for Food Packaging Applications: Nano-Layering through Spin-Coating and Incorporation of Cellulose Nanocrystals

Nanomaterials ◽

10.3390/nano10122564 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 2564

Author(s):

Amparo López-Rubio ◽

Adriana Blanco-Padilla ◽

Kristiina Oksman ◽

Sandra Mendoza

Keyword(s):

Contact Angle ◽

Optical Properties ◽

Cellulose Nanocrystals ◽

Spin Coating ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Water Solubility ◽

Protein Isolate ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Water Contact ◽

Angle Measurements

In this work, two different strategies for the development of amaranth protein isolate (API)-based films were evaluated. In the first strategy, ultrathin films were produced through spin-coating nanolayering, and the effects of protein concentration in the spin coating solution, rotational speed, and number of layers deposited on the properties of the films were evaluated. In the second strategy, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were incorporated through a casting methodology. The morphology, optical properties, and moisture affinity of the films (water contact angle, solubility, water content) were characterized. Both strategies resulted in homogeneous films with good optical properties, decreased hydrophilic character (as deduced from the contact angle measurements and solubility), and improved mechanical properties when compared with the neat API-films. However, both the processing method and film thickness influenced the final properties of the films, being the ones processed through spin coating more transparent, less hydrophilic, and less water-soluble. Incorporation of CNCs above 10% increased hydrophobicity, decreasing the water solubility of the API films and significantly enhancing material toughness.

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