A review on the emerging applications of nano-cellulose as advanced coatings.

The unparalleled dependency on petroleum based sources urged the research community to focus on developing renewable products, among which nanocellulose based commodities stands at the zenith due to its abundance, biodegradability and biocompatibility. Nanocellulose in form of coatings, aerogels, hydrogels, films and membranes have its own space in the research platform. The different coating technologies like spray, bar, roller, dip and foam coating are currently employed for the fabrication. The profound surface hydroxyl groups on the cellulose helps to incorporate desired properties like antimicrobial or antioxidant activities, barrier properties, superhydrophobicity or superhydrophilicity as per the applications ranging from biomedical to material engineering. Yet, the chemistry of these coatings have to be precisely tuned for its commercialization since many factors play challenging roles while the fabrication process like adhesion, brittleness and barrier properties. The manuscript discusses these aspects of the nanocellulose based coatings along with its challenges and future perspectives.