RT Journal Article
T1 Controlling superstructure formation and macro-scale adhesion via confined evaporation of cellulose nanocrystals
A1 Borrero López, Antonio María
A1 Greca, Luiz G.
A1 Rojas, Orlando J.
A1 Tardy, Blaise L.
AB The self-assembly of cellulose nanocrystals can tether their interfacial interactions and the associated properties of their constructs. For instance, assemblies of highly aligned cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) bear improved mechanical strength, barrier properties, and piezoelectric response. In this study, the self-assembly of CNC superstructure was assessed under various confinement geometries, enabling optimization of the long-range order within the microstructures formed. The confinement involved the planar capillary (with a rectangular cross-section)formed between two glass substrates with silicone boundaries. The impact of temperature, width and thickness of the capillary plane on self-assembly of the micro-scaled lamellar structures was evaluated. Thinner capillaries and lower temperatures were found to considerably improve long-range order and increase the frequency of the periodic microstructures formed. The drying process was monitored by rheological analysis, which showed an initial fast drying followed by slow drying due to the hindered diffusion through lamellae. The adhesive properties of the formed  superstructures were evaluated. The shear strength was shown to depend on the orientation of the superstructures and therefore of the CNCs. About 4 MPa adhesion strength was obtained when the lamellar superstructures were perpendicularly aligned with respect to the in-plane force applied, while ca. 3 MPa adhesion was obtained for parallel alignment. The experimental framework described herein enabled the evaluation of the impact of the dimensions of a drying meniscus on self-assembly of anisometric colloids while also linking cellulosic assemblies with their interfacial supramolecular interactions. This simple framework brings forward the possibility to correlate the behavior of nanometric objects with micro- and macro-scaled observations, e.g., macro-scaled mechanics of adhesion.
PB Springer
SN 0969-0239
SN 1572-882X (electrónico)
YR 2022
FD 2022
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/22199
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/22199
LA eng
NO Borrero-López, A.M., Greca, L.G., Rojas, O.J. et al. Controlling superstructure formation and macro-scale adhesion via confined evaporation of cellulose nanocrystals. Cellulose 30, 741–751 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-022-04937-4
NO A.M.B-L. acknowledges the MargaritaSalas (SOL-RPU-59) grant received and the Ph.D. ResearchGrant from the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte(FPU16/03697). The collaboration with the University ofAalto has been possible thanks to the grants EST17/00875 andEST1/00577 from the Ministerio de Educación y FormaciónProfesional. L.G.G. acknowledges funding by the Aalto UniversitySchool of Chemical Engineering doctoral programme.BLT acknowledges Khalifa University of Science and Technology(KUST) for the Faculty Startup Project (Project code:84741140-FSU-2022-021). OJR acknowledges support byEuropean Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’sHorizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grantagreement No 788489, “BioElCell”), the Canada Excellence Research Chair Program (CERC-2018-00006) and the CanadaFoundation for Innovation (Project number 38623).
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 1 jun 2026