Cellulose is an abundant biomaterial that can be used as reinforcing elements in a wide range of polymer composites at different length scales, ranging from macro (natural fibers) through micro (micro-fibrillated fibers) down to nano scale (nanocrystals). Because of the high surface-to-volume ratio and the high density of available primary hydroxyl groups on their surfaces, cellulose nanocrystals are highly prone to surface functionalization, which increases their chemical compatibility with different polymer matrices. Developing techniques to control the orientation and spatial distribution of these nanocrystals can allow us to fabricate composites with tunable mechanical properties. In this work, we investigated how direct-ink writing can be explored to assemble complex cellulose-based materials with controlled orientation and spatial distribution of nanocrystals. By varying the concentration of reinforcing nanocrystals, high degree of alignment and improved mechanical properties were obtained, paving the way for the fabrication of high-performance materials with renewable sources of reinforcing elements using additive manufacturing techniques.

3D printing of cellulose nanocrystals and nanocomposites

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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