Accelerating Cellulose Nanocrystal Assembly into Chiral Nanostructures

Abstract

Cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) suspensions self-assembled into chiral nematic liquid crystals. This property has enabled the development of versatile optical materials with fascinating properties. Nevertheless, the scale-up production and commercial success of chiral nematic CNC superstructures face significant challenges. Fabrication of chiral nematic CNC nanostructures suffers from a ubiquitous pernicious trade-off between uniform chiral nematic structure and rapid self-assembly. Specifically, the chiral nematic assembly of CNCs is a time-consuming, spontaneous process that involves the organization of particles into ordered nanostructures as the solvent evaporates. This review is driven by the interest in accelerating chiral nematic CNC assembly and promoting a long-range oriented chiral nematic CNC superstructure. To start this review, the chirality origins of CNC and CNC aggregates are analyzed. This is followed by a summary of the recent advances in stimuli-accelerated chiral nematic CNC self-assembly procedures, including evaporation-induced self-assembly, continuous coating, vacuum-assisted self-assembly, and shear-induced CNC assembly under confinement. In particular, stimuli-induced unwinding, alignment, and relaxation of chiral nematic structures were highlighted, offering a significant link between the accelerated assembly approaches and uniform chiral nematic nanostructures. Ultimately, future opportunities and challenges for rapid chiral nematic CNC assembly are discussed for more innovative and exciting applications.

AuNPs/CNC Nanocomposite with A “Dual Dispersion” Effect for LDI‐TOF MS Analysis of Intact Proteins in NSCLC Serum Exosomes

“…[ 57 ] UPAR is a glycated phosphatidylinositol‐anchored protein that mediates the degradation of the extracellular matrix and basement membrane. [ 42 ] UPAR interacts with different transmembrane proteins to activate intracellular signals mediated by mitogen‐activated protein kinase and further promotes the initiation and progression of many types of human cancer. [ 58 ] Moreover, high levels of UPAR in peripheral blood and tumor tissue are closely associated with the poor prognosis of patients.…”

“…[ 36 , 40 ] Recently, CNCs were used as a suitable stabilizer in the synthesis of metal nanoparticles in an aqueous medium. [ 40 , 41 , 42 ] Moreover, carboxymethyl cellulose with a high degree of carboxymethyl substitution involves pH‐sensitive interactions with AuNPs and reduced aggregation. [ 43 ] Herein, the dispersion of AuNPs in a CNC aqueous medium (AuNPs/CNC) was prepared by a one‐step method by reducing HAuCl 4 .…”

Two-Dimensional Piezoelectric Nanofibrous Webs by Self-Polarized Assembly for High-Performance PM0.3 Filtration

“…However, the building blocks are usually dispersed in water or ethyl alcohol, and even long-time ultrasonic treatment can barely distribute them uniformly. With the addition of the strong hydrogen-bonding forces during the free deposition process, the building blocks tend to exhibit randomly stacked porous architectures rather than the expected uniform web-like structures. − Besides, the electronetting technology developed from electrospinning is able to directly create webs with nanoscale internal fibers (diameters of ∼50 nm) and interior links. Nevertheless, the formation of the webs is decided by unpredictable charged drops, which are discontinuous and uncontrollable.…”