In trees, a-few-nanometers-wide crystalline fibrils of cellulose are tightly bundled with other biopolymers, such as lignin and hemicelluloses, to form robust cell walls. Cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) are obtained by successive treatments including the purification, modification, and disintegration of cell-wall cellulose. Herein, we report that the crystallinity of CNFs is governed by the interface between the bundled cellulose fibrils. The cellulose molecules at the interface or at the surface of the individual fibrils are ordered when the fibrils are more densely bundled upon removal of hemicelluloses. In turn, the interfacial molecules become disordered when bundled fibrils disperse upon disintegration as CNFs. Morphological analysis of the dispersed fibrils supports a model where single-cellulose fibrils in trees are composed of 18 molecular chains. Considering the 18-chain model, the surface molecules of the dispersed fibrils are disordered in the conformation of carbon atoms as analyzed by NMR, while all of the 18 chains are fully ordered in molecular sheet stacking to diffract X-rays.

Cellulose is crystallized by plants and other organisms into fibrous nanocrystals. The mechanical properties of these nanofibers and the formation of helical superstructures with energy dissipating and adaptive optical properties depend on the ordering of polysaccharide chains within these nanocrystals, which is typically measured in bulk average. Direct measurement of the local polysaccharide chain arrangement has been elusive. In this study, we use the emerging technique of scanning electron diffraction to probe the packing of polysaccharide chains across cellulose nanofibers and to reveal local ordering of the chains in twisting sections of the nanofibers. We then use atomic force microscopy to shed light on the size dependence of the inherent driving force for cellulose nanofiber twisting. The direct measurement of crystalline twisted regions in cellulose nanofibers has important implications for understanding single-cellulose-fibril properties that influence the interactions between cellulose nanocrystals in dense assemblies. This understanding may enable cellulose extraction and separation processes to be tailored and optimized.

Xerogels are defined as porous structures that are obtained by evaporative drying of wet gels. One challenge is producing xerogels with high porosity and large specific surface areas, which are structurally comparable to supercritical-dried aerogels. Herein, we report on cellulose xerogels with a truly aerogel-like porous structure. These xerogels have a monolithic form with porosities and specific surface areas in the ranges of 71–76% and 340–411 m 2 /g, respectively. Our strategy is based on combining three concepts: (1) the use of a very fine type of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) with a width of ~3 nm as the skeletal component of the xerogel; (2) increasing the stiffness of wet CNF gels by reinforcing the inter-CNF interactions to sustain their dry shrinkage; and (3) solvent-exchange of wet gels with low-polarity solvents, such as hexane and pentane, to reduce the capillary force on drying. The synergistic effects of combining these approaches lead to improvements in the porous structure in the CNF xerogels.

In materials science and crystallography, the true density is an important derived physical quantity of solids. Here we report the correlation of the true density of nanometer-wide fibrillar crystallites of cellulose with their purity, crystallinity, morphology, and surface functionality. In the single fibrils, all the cellulose molecules are uniaxiallly oriented. Thus, the true density indicates the molecular packing density in the single fibrils and is essential for the precise estimation of the volume fraction of cellulose in fibril-based composites or porous structures. We demonstrate that the true density of fibrillar crystallites of cellulose is approximately 1.60 g/cm3 irrespective of the biological origins of the cellulose (wood, cotton, or a tunicate) and the crystallinity. The true density is in fact independent of the dimension of the crystallites and the atomic conformation of the uniaxially oriented but noncrystalline molecules at the crystallite surface. In the single fibrils, all the cellulose molecules are densely packed from the crystalline core to the noncrystalline outermost regions. The value of 1.60 g/cm3 remains unchanged even when the fibrils are dispersed through the wet disintegration process of “nanocellulose” production. In contrast, tailoring the surface functionality of the fibrils by oxidation and/or adsorption results in a substantial change in the true density up to 1.8 g/cm3 or down to 1.3 g/cm3. The true density of nanocellulose is indeed governed by the surface functionality and has a strong gradient in the fibril cross-sectional direction.

Nacre-inspired clay nanocomposites have excellent mechanical properties, combined with optical transmittance, gas barrier properties, and fire retardancy, but the mechanical properties are still below predictions from composite micromechanics. The properties of montmorillonite clay/nanocellulose nanocomposite hybrids are investigated as a function of clay content and show a maximum Young's modulus as high as 28 GPa. Ultimate strength, however, decreases from 280 to 125 MPa between 0 and 80 wt % clay. Smallangle and wide-angle X-ray scattering data from synchrotron radiation are analyzed to suggest nanostructural and phase interaction factors responsible for these observations. Parameters discussed include effective platelet modulus, platelet out-of-plane orientation distribution, nanoporosity, and platelet agglomeration state.