Abstract
In nature, cellulose nanofibers form hierarchical structures across multiple length scales to achieve high-performance properties and different functionalities. Cellulose nanofibers, which are separated from plants or synthesized biologically, are being extensively investigated and processed into different materials owing to their good properties. The alignment of cellulose nanofibers is reported to significantly influence the performance of cellulose nanofiber-based materials. The alignment of cellulose nanofibers can bridge the nanoscale and macroscale, bringing enhanced nanoscale properties to high-performance macroscale materials. However, compared with extensive reviews on the alignment of cellulose nanocrystals, reviews focusing on cellulose nanofibers are seldom reported, possibly because of the challenge of aligning cellulose nanofibers. In this review, the alignment of cellulose nanofibers, including cellulose nanofibrils and bacterial cellulose, is extensively discussed from different aspects of the driving force, evaluation, strategies, properties, and applications. Future perspectives on challenges and opportunities in cellulose nanofiber alignment are also briefly highlighted.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 3646-3673 |
| Number of pages | 28 |
| Journal | ACS Nano |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 23 2021 |
Funding
This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Advanced Manufacturing Office, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with UT-Battelle LLC. Authors from University of Maine are grateful for the funding support from UT-Battelle LLC with the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 (subcontract no. 4000174848). Authors at the University of Maryland acknowledge the support of the U.S. National Science Foundation (Grant Nos. 1362256 and 1936452). This manuscript has been authored in part by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. DOE. The U.S. government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for U.S. government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan ).
Keywords
- anisotropic properties
- bacterial cellulose
- cellulose nanofiber
- cellulose nanofibrils
- fiber alignment
- functional materials
- nanocellulose
- nanocellulose self-assembly