Advanced composite materials derived from cellulose nanocrystals

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This proposal exploits cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), a key Canadian natural resource product and an emerging sustainable, environmentally friendly nanomaterial, in composite materials' manufacturing. The proposed project is of immediate importance to our industrial partners CABOT Corporation and BASF, both specializing in the manufacturing of inorganic and polymer nanoparticles, and Laserglow Technologies, which develops lasers and optical systems for biomedical diagnostics. The proposed project will focus on the exploration of the fundamental structure-property relationships in composite materials fabricated from mixtures of cellulose nanocrystals with inorganic or polymer (latex) nanoparticles, with the focus on materials with ordered structures. The results of this work will be used for the preparation of composite CNC-derived materials with advanced mechanical and optical properties. One of the particular goals of the proposed research is to explore a viable, cost-efficient manufacturing technology for the fabrication of optical polarizers for biomedical diagnostic instrumentation.Fundamental knowledge about the structure and properties of composite materials derived from cellulose nanocrystals will be used for the development of new products, which will target particular applications of such materials.