Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) is available from the acid-catalyzed degradation of cellulosic materials. NCC is composed of cylindrical crystallites with diameters of ca. 5-10 nm and large aspect ratios. This form of cellulose has intriguing properties, including its ability to form a chiral nematic structure. By using the chiral nematic organization of NCC as a template, we have been able to create highly porous silica films and carbon films with chiral nematic organization.1,2 These materials are iridescent and their structures mimic the shells of jewel beetles. In this paper, I will describe our recent efforts to use NCC to create new materials with interesting optical properties.References1. Shopsowitz, K.E.; Qi, H.; Hamad, W.Y.; MacLachlan, M.J. �Free-Standing Mesoporous Silica with Tunable Chiral Nematic Structures� Nature 2010  , 468, 422-425.2. Shopsowitz, K.E.; Hamad, W.Y.; MacLachlan, M.J. �Chiral Nematic Mesoporous Carbon Derived from Nanocrystalline Cellulose� Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011  , in press.

New materials from nanocrystalline cellulose

243rd National Meeting (2012)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.