Functional Materials from Nanocellulose: Utilizing Structure-Property Relationships in Bottom-Up Fabrication

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomaterials Engineering
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Mimicking complex natural hierarchical structures synthetically is challenging.
• Nanocellulose (cellulose nanocrystals and nanofibrils) is a promising renewable nanoscale building block.
• Nanocellulose's properties (shape, charge, mechanics) enable advanced structure-based functionality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the organization of nanocellulose into biomimetic materials.
• To cover sophisticated material structuring via alignment and process-induced methods.
• To establish design rules for nanocellulose assembly based on fundamental properties.

Main Methods:

• Review of various fabrication techniques for nanocellulose organization.
• Analysis of structure-property relationships in nanocellulose materials.
• Discussion of design principles for bottom-up fabrication.

Main Results:

• Demonstration of nanocellulose organization into aligned, porous, and fibrous biomimetic materials.
• Identification of sophisticated structuring through nanocellulose alignment and process-specific methods.
• Establishment of design rules linking nanocellulose properties to material assembly and function.

Conclusions:

• Nanocellulose is a versatile building block for creating advanced biomimetic materials.
• Understanding nanocellulose properties is key to controlling material assembly and function.
• Further advancements are needed to fully realize the potential of nanocellulose in fabricating sophisticated structures.