Supracolloidal Multivalent Interactions and Wrapping of Dendronized Glycopolymers on Native Cellulose Nanocrystals

Abstract

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are high aspect ratio colloidal rods with nanoscale dimensions, attracting considerable interest recently due to their high mechanical properties, chirality, sustainability, and availability. In order to exploit them for advanced functions in new materials, novel supracolloidal concepts are needed to manipulate their self-assemblies. We report on exploring multivalent interactions to CNC surface and show that dendronized polymers (DenPols) with maltose-based sugar groups on the periphery of lysine dendrons and poly(ethylene-alt-maleimide) polymer backbone interact with CNCs. The interactions can be manipulated by the dendron generation suggesting multivalent interactions. The complexation of the third generation DenPol (G3) with CNCs allows aqueous colloidal stability and shows wrapping around CNCs, as directly visualized by cryo high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron tomography. More generally, as the dimensions of G3 are in the colloidal range due to their ~6 nm lateral size and mesoscale length, the concept also suggests supracolloidal multivalent interactions between other colloidal objects mediated by sugar-functionalized dendrons giving rise to novel colloidal level assemblies.

Water-Resistant, Transparent Hybrid Nanopaper by Physical Cross-Linking with Chitosan

“…29 Polysaccharides provide a widely examined class of polymers that bind with cellulose surfaces by multivalent supramolecular interactions and can function as physical crosslinkers for NFC. 30,31,32,33 Creating a transparent hybrid nanopaper of NFC and a polysaccharide requires that the components can be homogenously mixed without major aggregation taking place. 34,35 Mechanical stability of the structural material upon hydration demands sufficiently favorable interactions between NFC and the polysaccharide over those between water and NFC or the polysaccharide.…”

Tailor-made copolymers for the adsorption to cellulosic surfaces

“…[55] The dendronized polymers consisted of maltose-based sugar groups at the periphery of lysine dendrons, G1, G2 and G3, grown divergently from a linear poly(ethylene-alt-maleimide). [56] Whilst G1, G2 and G3 dendronized polymers were investigated in the binding to CNC, the emphasis was placed on the G3 dendronized polymer.…”

Enhanced electromechanical performance of bio-based gelatin/glycerin dielectric elastomer by cellulose nanocrystals

“…Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) (Klemm et al, 2011;Majoinen et al, 2014;Pei, Malho, Ruokolainen, Zhou & Berglund, 2011;Shopsowitz, Kelly, Hamad & MacLachlan, 2014),extracted from natural cellulose fibers such as bleached wood pulp, cotton or ramie fibers by acid hydrolysis, were used to improve the mechanical strength of GG elastomer. Meanwhile, CNCs with a large number of hydroxyl groups could further disrupt the hydrogen bonds between gelatin molecules, increasing the dipole rotation and/or the polarizability of gelatin chains, and thus could further largely increase the dielectric constant of GG elastomer.…”