Preparation of Ordered Films of Cellulose Nanocrystals

To understand the structure and reactivity of lignified plant cell walls, ordered cellulose films. were developed from nanocrystals (whiskers) to mimic successive native cellulose layers in plant cell walls. The films were prepared by deposition of whisker suspensions in an electric field or by transfer of whisker monolayers onto a solid substrate by the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. In a controlled electric field (strength, frequency), completely ordered nanocrystal films were obtained between the electrodes. With the Langmuir-Blodgett technique, ordered domains of several square millimeters in area were obtained by controlling the surface concentration of the whiskers. These results should allow defining the experimental conditions for the preparation of new model systems from cellulose nanocrystal suspensions for the investigation of surface properties of plant cell walls.