scholarly journals Self-ordered cellulose nanocrystals and microscopic investigations

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
C.F. Castro-Guerrero ◽  
A.B. Morales-Cepeda ◽  
M.R. Díaz-Guillén ◽  
F. Delgado-Arroyo ◽  
F.A. López-González
Keyword(s):  
Cellulose Nanocrystals ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Nematic Phase ◽  
Average Length ◽  
Periodic Change ◽  
Local Orientation ◽  
Preferred Direction ◽  
Self Assembling ◽  
Chiral Nematic ◽  
Assembly Structure

Abstract Cellulose nanocrystals were extracted from cotton. The cellulose nanocrystals made a self-assembly structure when dried under slow conditions, as it was revealed by the characterization made to the material. The AFM images of the nanocrystals showed that they had a changing local orientation, pointing in a preferred direction that underwent a periodic change. This periodic change resembles the orientation of a chiral nematic phase. The TEM images showed that the nanocrystals had a rod-like appearance with average length size of 98.5 nm and a diameter of 4.7 nm. The TEM characterization showed the nanocrystals with more details than AFM. In this paper, the self-assembling of CNC was observed by AFM, and further investigations were done by TEM, deconvoluting the process of CNC nanorods aggregation.

scholarly journals Lateral Gradient Ambidextrous Optical Reflection in Self-Organized Left-Handed Chiral Nematic Cellulose Nanocrystals Films

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiawei Tao ◽  
Jiaqi Li ◽  
Xiao Yu ◽  
Lihong Wei ◽  
Yan Xu
Keyword(s):  
Cellulose Nanocrystals ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Circularly Polarized ◽  
Optical Reflection ◽  
Self Organized ◽  
Left Handed ◽  
Assembly Method ◽  
Chiral Nematic ◽  
Half Wavelength ◽  
Film Substrate

Artificial photonic materials displaying ordered reflected color patterns are desirable in the field of photonic technologies, however, it is challenging to realize. Here we present that self-assembly of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) in a tilted cuvette leads to the formation of rainbow color CNC films. We show that the self-organized CNC films enable simultaneous reflection of left-handed circularly polarized (LCP) and right-handed circularly polarized (RCP) light with lateral gradient transmittance ratio (LCP/RCP: 8.7–0.9) and the maximum reflectance value up to ca. 72%. This unique ambidextrous optical reflection arises from left-handed chiral photonic architectures with lateral gradient photonic bandgaps and nematic-like defects at the film-substrate interface and between left-handed photonic bandgap layers acting as a half-wavelength retarder. We demonstrate that the tilted angle self-assembly method provides a feasible step toward color patterning of CNC-based photonic films capable of ambidextrous optical reflection.

Cellulose nanocrystals in nanoarchitectonics – towards photonic functional materials

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Giese ◽  
Matthias Spengler
Keyword(s):  
Cellulose Nanocrystals ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Functional Materials ◽  
Chiral Nematic ◽  
Application Potential

This review summarizes the recent achievements in the development of photonic functional materials based on cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and CNC templating. The unique self-assembly of CNCs into chiral nematic structures introduces photonic properties for the development of functional materials with application potential in photonic sensing, tunable reflectors or optoelectronics.

Self-assembling and Chiral Nematic Properties of Organophilic Cellulose Nanocrystals

2009 ◽  
Vol 113 (32) ◽  
pp. 11069-11075 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samira Elazzouzi-Hafraoui ◽  
Jean-Luc Putaux ◽  
Laurent Heux
Keyword(s):  
Cellulose Nanocrystals ◽  
Self Assembling ◽  
Chiral Nematic

scholarly journals Self-assembly of freely-rotating polydisperse cuboids: unveiling the boundaries of the biaxial nematic phase

Soft Matter ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (24) ◽  
pp. 5565-5570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Effran Mirzad Rafael ◽  
Daniel Corbett ◽  
Alejandro Cuetos ◽  
Alessandro Patti
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Crystal ◽  
Nematic Liquid Crystal ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Nematic Phase ◽  
Self Assembling ◽  
Crystal Phases ◽  
Biaxial Nematic ◽  
Liquid Crystal Phases ◽  
Biaxial Nematic Phase

Polydisperse colloidal cuboids display a very rich self-assembling behaviour, which includes stable biaxial nematic liquid crystal phases.

Factors Affecting Molecular Self-Assembly and Its Mechanism

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hueyling Tan
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Molecular Engineering ◽  
Molecular Structures ◽  
Polymer Science ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Dna Structures ◽  
Self Assembling ◽  
Wide Range

Molecular self-assembly is ubiquitous in nature and has emerged as a new approach to produce new materials in chemistry, engineering, nanotechnology, polymer science and materials. Molecular self-assembly has been attracting increasing interest from the scientific community in recent years due to its importance in understanding biology and a variety of diseases at the molecular level. In the last few years, considerable advances have been made in the use ofpeptides as building blocks to produce biological materials for wide range of applications, including fabricating novel supra-molecular structures and scaffolding for tissue repair. The study ofbiological self-assembly systems represents a significant advancement in molecular engineering and is a rapidly growing scientific and engineering field that crosses the boundaries ofexisting disciplines. Many self-assembling systems are rangefrom bi- andtri-block copolymers to DNA structures as well as simple and complex proteins andpeptides. The ultimate goal is to harness molecular self-assembly such that design andcontrol ofbottom-up processes is achieved thereby enabling exploitation of structures developed at the meso- and macro-scopic scale for the purposes oflife and non-life science applications. Such aspirations can be achievedthrough understanding thefundamental principles behind the selforganisation and self-synthesis processes exhibited by biological systems.

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