Cellulose nanoanemone: an asymmetric form of nanocellulose

Abstract

Nanocellulose with increasing attention in basic research and for use in advanced materials is usually considered to have a symmetrical nanofibril, nanorod or fibrillated nanofiber shape, regardless of the asymmetric effects owing to the presence of one reducing end. The production of asymmetrical nanocellulose would considerably extend its usefulness in new applications. Here, we propose an asymmetric form of cellulose nanofibrils having a shape that changed from a thick nanobarrel at one end to a thinner cylinder with a few flourishes towards the reducing end. The “cellulose nanoanemone” fibrils, named after sea anemone, were fabricated by aqueous counter collision of bacterial cellulose pellicle cultured under dissolved oxygen conditions. The characteristics of the “cellulose nanoanemone” fibrils were determined both in the dry and the in situ water-dispersed states by selective staining of the fibrillated ends in a single nanofibril by using confocal laser scanning microscopy, together with their unique thixotropic behavior.