Liu Huan, Wang Zhihao, Xin Haowei, Liu Jun, Wang Qianqian, Pang Bo, Zhang Kai
Biofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, School of Emergency Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China.
National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Plant Fiber Functional Materials, Fuzhou 350108, China.
ACS Nano. 2024 Aug 27;18(34):22675-22708. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.4c03130. Epub 2024 Aug 13.
Chiral architectures, one of the key structural features of natural systems ranging from the nanoscale to macroscale, are an infinite source of inspiration for functional materials. Researchers have been, and still are, strongly pursuing the goal of constructing such structures with renewable and sustainable building blocks via simple and efficient strategies. With the merits of high sustainability, renewability, and the ability to self-assemble into chiral nematic structures in aqueous suspensions that can be preserved in the solid state, polysaccharide nanocrystals (PNs) including cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and chitin nanocrystals (ChNCs) offer opportunities to reach the target. We herein provide a comprehensive review that focuses on the development of CNCs and ChNCs for the use in advanced functional materials. First, the introduction of CNCs and ChNCs, and cellulose- and chitin-formed chiral nematic organizations in the natural world, are given. Then, the self-assembly process of such PNs and the factors influencing this process are comprehensively discussed. After that, we showcased the emerging applications of the self-assembled chiral nematic structures of CNCs and ChNCs. Finally, this review concludes with perspectives on the challenges and opportunities in this field.
手性结构是从纳米尺度到宏观尺度的自然系统的关键结构特征之一，是功能材料无穷的灵感来源。研究人员过去一直且现在仍在大力追求通过简单高效的策略，用可再生和可持续的构建单元构建此类结构的目标。多糖纳米晶体（PNs），包括纤维素纳米晶体（CNCs）和几丁质纳米晶体（ChNCs），具有高可持续性、可再生性以及在水悬浮液中自组装成手性向列相结构并能以固态保存的能力，为实现这一目标提供了机会。我们在此提供一篇全面综述，重点关注用于先进功能材料的CNCs和ChNCs的发展。首先，介绍了CNCs和ChNCs，以及自然界中由纤维素和几丁质形成的手性向列相组织。然后，全面讨论了此类PNs的自组装过程以及影响该过程的因素。之后，我们展示了CNCs和ChNCs自组装手性向列相结构的新兴应用。最后，本综述以对该领域挑战和机遇的展望作为结尾。
