Liquid crystal hydroglass formed via phase separation of nanocellulose colloidal rods.

Xu, Yuan; Atrens, Aleks D; Stokes, Jason R · Soft Matter · 2019

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

A new anisotropic soft material - a liquid crystal 'hydroglass' (LCH) - is created from aqueous suspensions of nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) colloidal rods. Under specific conditions, the NCC suspension separates into a colloid-rich attractive glass matrix phase and a coexisting liquid crystal phase. LCH provides similar viscoelastic properties to polymer and colloidal gels, but permits reversibly-orientating the colloidal rods through shear forces.