Gray Derek G
Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2016 Nov 14;6(11):213. doi: 10.3390/nano6110213.
One unique property of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) is their property of forming suspensions with chiral nematic order. This order can be preserved in films cast from the suspensions, raising the possibility of applications as photonic materials and templates. However, it has proved difficult to generate uniform, well-ordered chiral nematic materials from CNC. Recently, the importance of kinetic arrest due to gel formation in the later stages of evaporation has been recognized as a key step in film formation. In this brief review, recent developments regarding the structure of chiral nematic suspensions and films as monitored by polarized light microscopy are outlined, and attention is drawn to the importance of shear forces on the self-organization process.
纤维素纳米晶体（CNC）的一个独特性质是它们具有形成具有手性向列相序悬浮液的性质。这种相序可以在由悬浮液浇铸而成的薄膜中得以保留，从而增加了其作为光子材料和模板应用的可能性。然而，事实证明，从CNC生成均匀、有序的手性向列相材料是困难的。最近，人们认识到在蒸发后期由于凝胶形成导致的动力学阻滞是薄膜形成的关键步骤。在这篇简短的综述中，概述了通过偏光显微镜监测的手性向列相悬浮液和薄膜结构的最新进展，并提请注意剪切力对自组装过程的重要性。
