Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) have attracted attention in recent years as potential green nanomaterials. CNCs are highly crystalline nanofibers that can be isolated from a variety of renewable biosources, including cotton, sisal, wood, and sea tunicates. The diameters range from 5 to 30 nm and the lengths range from 100 nm to several micrometers depending on the biosource and method of isolation. CNCs have several advantages as a nanomaterial, including bio-sustainability, bio-renewability, relatively low production cost, and low cytotoxicity. They generally have high surface area, low density, low coefficient of thermal expansion as well as high elastic moduli of about 80-150 GPa, depending on the biosource. We have been investigating the use of CNCs to access mechanically-dynamic composites, as reinforcing agents for polymers and aerogels and to access stable nano-emulsions and latexes. More recently we have exploring how functionalizing the CNC surface impacts the properties of the resulting nanocomposites and our latest work in this area will be discussed.

Investigating composites of functionalized cellulose nanocrystals

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