The chiral environment of enantiomerically pure D-alanine solutions is observed to disrupt and modify the entropy-driven assembly of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) into a chiral nematic mesophase. The effect is specific to D-alanine and cannot be attributed to the adsorption of alanine molecules (neither D- nor L-alanine) onto the CNC particles.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d3nr03077f | DOI Listing |
Soft Matter
January 2025
Department of Materials Science, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece.
Monte Carlo molecular simulations of curve-shaped rods show the propensity of such shapes to polymorphism revealing both smectic and polar nematic phases. The nematic exhibits a nanoscale modulated local structure characterized by a unique, polar, -symmetry axis that tightly spirals generating a mirror-symmetry-breaking organization of the achiral rods-form chirality. A comprehensive characterization of the polarity and its symmetries in the nematic phase confirms that the nanoscale modulation is distinct from the elastic deformations of a uniaxial nematic director in the twist-bend nematic phase.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCarbohydr Polym
March 2025
Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources and International Innovation Center for Forest Chemicals and Materials, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China. Electronic address:
3D printing technology is one of the most promising strategies for constructing topological functional materials. The development of functional inks is a core issue in the technical development of 3D printing technology. In this study, we engineered photonic crystal inks based on chiral nematic liquid crystals of cellulose derivative, i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSmall
January 2025
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA.
Precisely crafted hierarchical architectures found in naturally derived biomaterials underpin the exceptional performance and functionality showcased by the host organism. In particular, layered helical assemblies composed of cellulose, chitin, or collagen serve as the foundation for some of the most mechanically robust and visually striking natural materials. By utilizing structured materials in additive manufacturing techniques such as extrusion-based 3D printing, the intrinsic deformation process can be used to implement bottom-up design of printed constructs, offering the potential to create intricate macroscale geometries with embedded nanoscale functionality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMater Horiz
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Bio-based Material Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China.
Dynamic responsive structural colored materials have drawn increased consideration in a wide range of applications, such as colorimetric sensors and high-safety tags. However, the sophisticated interactions among the individual responsive parts restrict the advanced design of multimodal responsive photonic materials. Inspired by stimuli-responsive color change in chameleon skin, a simple and effective photo-crosslinking strategy is proposed to construct hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) based hydrogels with multiple responsive structured colors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAngew Chem Int Ed Engl
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Chemistry and Application of Ministry of Education, and College of Chemistry, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 411105, P.R. China.
Efficient circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) optical waveguides have significant potential for advancing photonic and optoelectronic devices. However, the development of CPL optical waveguides materials (OWMs) with low optical loss coefficient remains a considerable challenge. To overcome this, we design and synthesize CPL OWMs based on room-temperature phosphorescent liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs).
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