Disordered Cellulose-Based Nanostructures for Enhanced Light Scattering

Abstract

Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on Earth. Cellulose fibers, such as the one extracted form cotton or woodpulp, have been used by humankind for hundreds of years to make textiles and paper. Here we show how, by engineering light–matter interaction, we can optimize light scattering using exclusively cellulose nanocrystals. The produced material is sustainable, biocompatible, and when compared to ordinary microfiber-based paper, it shows enhanced scattering strength (×4), yielding a transport mean free path as low as 3.5 μm in the visible light range. The experimental results are in a good agreement with the theoretical predictions obtained with a diffusive model for light propagation.

Topological Engineering of Photoluminescence Properties of Bismuth‐ or Erbium‐Doped Phosphosilicate Glass of Arbitrary P2O5 to SiO2 Ratio

“…The increase in the emission intensity is most likely related to the enhanced light-matter interaction as a result of the strong internal scattering induced by the heterogeneities present in the PS glasses. [43] www.advopticalmat.de of the Er 3+ -doped PS glass is shown in Figure 8d, during the whole decay course, the PL line shape remain unvaried, indicating a good spectrum stability. The large tunability in both the band position and bandwidth points to the potential of the new method to allow fabrication of glasses of intriguing PL functions (e.g., dual-mode emission, [35] etc.…”

“…The FWHM of the Er 3+ 4 I 13/2 → 4 I 15/2 emission in SP Er 5 (40 nm) is clearly wider than in the silicate-only SP Er 0 (35 nm) and phosphate-only SP Er 10 (27 nm) glasses ( Figure 8b). [43] Time-resolved PL spectrum www.advopticalmat.de of the Er 3+ -doped PS glass is shown in Figure 8d, during the whole decay course, the PL line shape remain unvaried, indicating a good spectrum stability. Variations of the Er 3+ emission lifetime and emission peak intensity as a function of the phosphate content are plotted as shown in Figure 8c.…”

Finite Size Effects on Light Propagation throughout Random Media: Relation between Optical Properties and Scattering Event Statistics

“…[14][15][16][17][18] At the same time, efforts have been devoted to structures optimizing light-scattering for the fabrication of highly efficient Lambertian-like reflectors. [19][20][21][22][23][24] These approaches seek the development of highly opaque and white materials in which optical scattering is maximized for the thinnest possible system, thus minimizing material use. These materials would have special interest for the fabrication of commercial products designed to exhibit a white appearance, such as the manufacture of paper.…”

Systematic in vitro biocompatibility studies of multimodal cellulose nanocrystal and lignin nanoparticles

“…Because CNC are nonspherical NPs, the width and length determinations by DLS become more complex, where the light scattering needs to be measured in multiple angles to obtain accurate dimensions while the spherical NPs give the same scattering pattern from all direction of the particle. Moreover, CNC is not optically transparent in aqueous solution, resulting in strong light scattering during the measurement and causing erroneous results (Caixeiro, Peruzzo, Onelli, Vignolini, & Sapienza, 2017;Dufresne, 2013). Therefore, the most appropriate method for morphological characterization of CNC NPs is TEM.…”

“…, the NPs used for the passive targeting of tumor vasculature via the enhanced permeability and retention effect can be in the range of 200-780 nm(Gaumet, Vargas, Gurny, & Delie, 2008). Moreover, CNC is not optically transparent in aqueous solution, resulting in strong light scattering during the measurement and causing erroneous results(Caixeiro, Peruzzo, Onelli, Vignolini, & Sapienza, 2017;Dufresne, 2013). Moreover, CNC is not optically transparent in aqueous solution, resulting in strong light scattering during the measurement and causing erroneous results(Caixeiro, Peruzzo, Onelli, Vignolini, & Sapienza, 2017;Dufresne, 2013).…”