Chiral photonic materials self-assembled by cellulose nanocrystals

• Published in: Current opinion in solid state & materials science Vol. 26; no. 5; p. 101017
• Main Authors: Wang, Chaoxuan, Tang, Chuanmei, Wang, Yuefei, Shen, Yuhe, Qi, Wei, Zhang, Ting, Su, Rongxin, He, Zhimin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2022
• Subjects: Cellulose nanocrystals; Cholesteric liquid crystal; Iridescent films; Photonic biomaterials; Structural color; Structural color; Photonic biomaterials; Iridescent films; Cellulose nanocrystals; Cholesteric liquid crystal
• ISSN: 1359-0286
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cossms.2022.101017

[Display omitted] •The synthesis, characteristics, and structural color formation of CNCs are elaborated.•The research progress of CNCs iridescent film under various external field control is summarized.•Various composite films with structural colors based on CNCs are reviewed.•The applications of CNC-based structural color materials are summarized. Cellulose nanocrystals are natural nanomaterials with a high aspect ratio, high specific area, excellent stability, and favorable optical performances. Cellulose nanocrystals can form cholesteric liquid crystals through a left-handed spiral arrangement. The suspension liquid of cellulose nanocrystals can retain the chiral cholesteric structure in the solid film after being completely dried, leading to the appearance of Bragg reflection and bright structural color in the visible spectrum. By changing the conditions or mixing with polymers, the cellulose nanocrystals film will show different structural colors due to the change of pitch. The film can cover almost the entire visible spectrum, which can be applied to various aspects such as sensing, anti-counterfeiting, detection, and so on. In this review, we elaborated on the synthesis and properties of cellulose nanocrystals materials and introduced the mechanism of structural color formation, as well as the current research progress and applications. Cellulose nanocrystals have become a hot spot in the field of structural color, and provide more research value for providing a cheap, easy-to-obtain, green-friendly, and high-biocompatibility natural photonic material.