Abstract
A highly ordered cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) film was processed and characterized from a non-aqueous suspension. As a first step, by drawing upon the negative magnetic anisotropy of CNCs, a global order of the nanocrystals is achieved by magnetic field-assisted manipulation of a cholesteric suspension in n-methylformamide (NMF), and then the order is subsequently preserved into a solid-state film. We study the differences between the structures of the 4 T-dried film and the control film dried in the absence of magnetic field. Additionally, we compare the NMF-dried films to those dried from aqueous suspensions with and without magnetic field. Optical microscopy, cross-sectional imaging analysis, and sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy show that the CNC-NMF film dried under magnetic field exhibited a highly ordered layered structure throughout the film, comparable to that observed when films were produced from aqueous suspensions. Extending the potential of the CNC alignment to non-aqueous systems will enable a broad spectrum of applications for CNC-based polymer composites.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 3547-3554 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | MRS Advances |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 64 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2020 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- General Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Mechanics of Materials
- Mechanical Engineering