Advanced resonator - and imaging-based characterization of morphology and aggregation in CNCs and CFs

该项目的扩展标题是“通过阻抗和成像表征推进对cnc和基于cnc的纳米复合材料性能的理解和测量”。纤维素纳米晶体和纳米纤维构成了一种令人兴奋的纳米材料，近年来引起了科学界的强烈关注。同时，纤维素纳米材料中的许多物理现象仍然没有得到充分的了解，这反过来又限制了它们在潜在的结构、光学、电子和传感应用中的应用。在此背景下，该提案的主要科学目标是对纤维素纳米晶体（CNCs）和纤维素纳米丝（CNFs）的性质和行为进行基础研究，以扩大其在二元和多组分共混/复合材料中的应用。我们提出的工作的新颖性源于我们提出的一套相对独特的方法来研究cnc和碳纤维，以及cnc与其他功能材料的混合。在本提案中，我们提出了两种迄今尚未使用的技术，即基于阻抗微波谐振器的表征和基于成像的表征，这不仅是对现有技术的补充，而且旨在将其他领域（微波情况下的无机纳米结构，TIRF情况下的生物分子）的成熟方法应用于研究纤维素纳米材料。cnc和cf的绝大多数实际应用都需要与另一种固体组件混合。然而，目前大多数CNCs和CFs的表征方法要么完全不适用于固态复合材料（例如DLS），要么很麻烦（例如XRD），要么由于信号重叠或峰移（例如x射线衍射）而不精确和不可靠。g拉曼，FTIR)，这是一个缺陷，我们试图解决使用阻抗和成像为基础的表征方法。该CRD项目还将尝试推进基于cnc和CFs的电子复合材料的制造和表征。* * * * * * * *

The expanded title of this project is "Advancing the understanding and measurement of the properties of CNCs and CNC-based nanocomposites through Impedometric- and Imaging-based characterization". Cellulose nanocrystals and nanofilaments constitute an exciting nanomaterial that has recently attracted strong attention from the scientific community. At the same time, a number of physical phenomena in cellulosic nanomaterials remain inadequately understood, which in turn, is limiting their use in potential structural, optical, electronic and sensing applications. In this context, the primary scientific objective of the proposal is to conduct fundamental research into the properties and behavior of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and cellulose nanofilaments (CNFs) with the intention of expanding their applications in binary and multicomponent blends/composites. The novelty of our proposed work originates in the relatively unique suite of methodologies we propose to employ to study CNCs and CFs, and blends of CNCs with other functional materials. In this proposal, we present two hitherto unused techniques, namely Impedometric microwave resonator-based characterization and Imaging-based characterization, which are not only complementary to the existing techniques but also aim to apply proven methodologies from other areas (inorganic nanostructures in the case of microwaves, biomolecules in the case of TIRF) to the study cellulosic nanomaterials. The vast majority of real-world applications of CNCs and CFs require blending with another solid component. Yet, most of the present characterization methods for CNCs and CFs either are completely inapplicable to solid-state composites (e.g. DLS) or else are cumbersome (e.g. XRD) or else imprecise and unreliable due to overlapping signals or peak shifts (.e.g Raman, FTIR), a deficiency which we seek to address using the Impedometric- and Imaging-based characterization methods. This CRD project will also attempt to advance the fabrication and characterization of electronic composites based on CNCs and CFs. ********