Origin of chiral interactions in cellulose supra-molecular microfibrils.
The formation of a chiral-nematic phase from cellulose nanowhiskers has been frequently reported in the literature. The most popular theory used to explain the chiral interactions is that of twisted morphology of cellulose nanowhiskers. Two possible origins of twist have been suggested: the intrinsic chirality of cellulose chains and result of interaction of chiral surfaces. High resolution SEM and AFM have been used to locate twists in cellulose microfibrils and nanowhiskers. The origin of the twisted morphology in cellulose microfibrils has been studied with reference to the protein aggregation theory.
Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, CB2 3QZ UK. Electronic address: mudrika@iith.ac.in.
Mudrika
M
Khandelwal
Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, CB2 3QZ UK. Electronic address: ahw1@cam.ac.uk.
Alan
A
Windle
D002473:Cell Wall / Q000737:chemistry*; D002482:Cellulose / Q000737:chemistry*; D020894:Microfibrils / Q000737:chemistry*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D015394:Molecular Structure; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic
D002482:Cellulose
Cellulose; Chiral interactions; Chiral-nematic; Supramolecule