Advanced applications of cellulose nanocrystals: a mini review

Abstract

Cellulose that has been acid hydrolyzed is what makes up cellulose nanocrystals (CNC). Due to CNCs biodegradability, renewability, sustainability, and mechanical properties, they have a wide range of applications in the biomedical, photonics, and material engineering fields. Rheology, or the flow behaviour of CNC dispersion, is integrally tied to the processing and design of CNC-based products, thus it is important and warrants inquiry to carefully examine the relationship between rheology's flow behaviour and their attributes. In this paper, we report the most recent findings on the advanced application of CNC suspension, aerogel, and hydrogels. Applications to technology and material science for developing advanced materials such as photonic tunable crystals, responsive materials, and thermal insulation packing materials were also covered.