Nature-Inspired Helicoidal Nanocellulose-Based Multi-Compartment Assemblies with Tunable Chiroptical Properties

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Sustainable Materials

Background:

• Cellulose-based nanocomposites offer potential for sustainable functional materials.
• Current fabrication methods lack precise sub-micrometer structural control, limiting nanocomposite applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an additive manufacturing process for precise structural control of cellulose nanofibrils.
• To create thin films with tunable helicoidal arrangements of cellulose nanofibrils.

Main Methods:

• Combined spray-assisted alignment of cellulose nanofibrils with layer-by-layer assembly.
• Utilized an additive manufacturing approach with controlled alignment direction for each cellulose layer.
• Verified helicoidal structure using circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy.

Main Results:

• Achieved thin films with rationally selected helicoidal arrangements of cellulose nanofibrils.
• Demonstrated tunability of handedness and pitch of chiral structures by controlling spray parameters.
• Verified structural chirality through circular dichroism measurements.

Conclusions:

• The developed spray-assisted layer-by-layer additive manufacturing enables precise nanoscale structural control in cellulose nanocomposites.
• This method allows for the design of complex nanocomposite architectures with tunable properties.
• Enables novel designs for damage-resistant and optical filtering composite films.