Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) films present some very interesting optical properties. The most striking one are iridescence and their UV-visible absorption spectra. Interestingly, they also emit fluorescence. All this without the presence of any chromophore. We used molecular modeling on the ab initio and mesoscale level to construct a 3D model of these NCC films to explain their unusual properties. Our ultimate goal is to be able to explain and predict the optical properties of NCC films by inducing physical and chemical modifications onto them. The first part of the project will focus mainly on the interactions of various functional groups substituted on the cellulose chain and their effect on the 3D structure of NCC films.

Nanocrystalline cellulose films: Modeling of molecular structure, part 1

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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