ausblenden:
Schlagwörter:
Acetylation
Chitin
Colloids
Crystalline materials
Hydrolysis
Ionic strength
Materials handling
Nanocrystals
Self assembly
Suspensions (components)
Degree of acetylation
Helicoidal ordering
Hierarchical architectures
Hydrolysis conditions
Industrial context
Liquid crystalline
Liquid-crystalline phasis
Self-assembly behaviors
Suspensions (fluids)
nanocrystal
cellulose
nanoparticle
water
acidity
animal shell
aqueous solution
Article
evaporation
nonhuman
pH
priority journal
suspension
ultrasound
chemistry
osmolarity
Nanoparticles
Osmolar Concentration
Suspensions
Zusammenfassung:
As with many other biosourced colloids, chitin nanocrystals (ChNCs) can form liquid crystalline phases with chiral nematic ordering. In this work, we demonstrate that it is possible to finely tune the liquid crystalline behavior of aqueous ChNC suspensions finely. Such control was made possible by carefully studying how the hydrolysis conditions and suspension treatments affect the colloidal and self-assembly properties of ChNCs. Specifically, we systematically investigated the effects of duration and acidity of chitin hydrolysis required to extract ChNCs, as well as the effects of the tip sonication energy input, degree of acetylation, pH and ionic strength. Finally, we show that by controlled water evaporation, it is possible to retain and control the helicoidal ordering in dry films, leading to a hierarchical architecture analogous to that found in nature, e.g. in crab shells. We believe that this work serves as a comprehensive insight into ChNC preparation and handling which is required to unlock the full potential of this material in both a scientific and industrial context. © 2019 American Chemical Society.
