Work

A study across scales to unveil microstructural regimes in the multivalent metal driven self-assembly of cellulose nanocrystals

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: complexation. Near-atomistic coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations were developed to gain microscopic insight into the behaviour of this colloidal system. We found that the formation of different self-assembled architectures is driven by metal-nanocellulose complexation combined with the attenuation of electrostatic repulsion and water structuration around cellulose, leading to different microstructural regimes, from isolated nanorods to disconnected rod fractal clusters and rod fractal gels. These findings lay the foundation to unlock the full potential of cellulose nanocrystals as sustainable building blocks to develop self-assembled materials with defined structural control for a range of advanced applications.

Source: Nanoscale

DOI: 10.1039/d3nr01418e

Authors: Valeria Gabrielli, Alberta Ferrarini, Marco Frasconi

Institution: University of Padua

Language: English

Topic: Advanced Cellulose Research Studies

Subfield: Biomaterials

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: Università degli Studi di Padova

Award: G2707396113