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The Self‐Assembly of Cellulose Nanocrystals: Hierarchical Design of Visual Appearance
Author(s) -
Parker Richard M.,
Guidetti Giulia,
Williams Cyan A.,
Zhao Tianheng,
Narkevicius Aurimas,
Vignolini Silvia,
FrkaPetesic Bruno
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201704477
Subject(s) - materials science , nanotechnology , structural coloration , cellulose , nanostructure , nanocrystal , photonic crystal , self assembly , biocompatibility , nanoscopic scale , photonics , biomimetics , liquid crystal , optoelectronics , chemical engineering , engineering , metallurgy
By controlling the interaction of biological building blocks at the nanoscale, natural photonic nanostructures have been optimized to produce intense coloration. Inspired by such biological nanostructures, the possibility to design the visual appearance of a material by guiding the hierarchical self‐assembly of its constituent components, ideally using natural materials, is an attractive route for rationally designed, sustainable manufacturing. Within the large variety of biological building blocks, cellulose nanocrystals are one of the most promising biosourced materials, primarily for their abundance, biocompatibility, and ability to readily organize into photonic structures. Here, the mechanisms underlying the formation of iridescent, vividly colored materials from colloidal liquid crystal suspensions of cellulose nanocrystals are reviewed and recent advances in structural control over the hierarchical assembly process are reported as a toolbox for the design of sophisticated optical materials.