title: Disordered Cellulose-Based Nanostructures for Enhanced Light Scattering.
abstract: Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on Earth. Cellulose fibers, such as the one extracted form cotton or woodpulp, have been used by humankind for hundreds of years to make textiles and paper. Here we show how, by engineering light-matter interaction, we can optimize light scattering using exclusively cellulose nanocrystals. The produced material is sustainable, biocompatible, and when compared to ordinary microfiber-based paper, it shows enhanced scattering strength (×4), yielding a transport mean free path as low as 3.5 μm in the visible light range. The experimental results are in a good agreement with the theoretical predictions obtained with a diffusive model for light propagation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics King's College London , Strand, London WC2R 2LS, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Soraya
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4605-957X
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Caixeiro
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics King's College London , Strand, London WC2R 2LS, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Matilda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peruzzo
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Cambridge University , Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Olimpia D
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8720-2179
authors.initials: OD
authors.lastname: Onelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Cambridge University , Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vignolini
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics King's College London , Strand, London WC2R 2LS, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sapienza
keywords: cellulose nanocystals; diffusion; disorder; photonic glass; photonics; scattering