Advanced composite materials derived from cellulose nanocrystals

这项提议在复合材料制造中利用了纤维素纳米晶(CNCS)，这是加拿大一种关键的自然资源产品，也是一种新兴的可持续、环境友好的纳米材料。拟议中的项目对我们的工业合作伙伴Cabot Corporation和BASF以及Laserglow Technologies具有直接的重要性，这两家公司都专门从事无机和聚合物纳米粒子的制造，Laserglow Technologies开发用于生物医学诊断的激光和光学系统。 拟议的项目将侧重于探索由纤维素纳米晶与无机或聚合物(乳胶)纳米颗粒混合制成的复合材料中的基本结构-性能关系，重点是具有有序结构的材料。这项工作的结果将用于制备具有先进机械和光学性能的复合数控衍生材料。这项拟议研究的一个特殊目标是探索一种可行的、成本效益高的制造技术，用于制造用于生物医学诊断仪器的光学偏振器。 有关从纤维素纳米晶衍生的复合材料的结构和性能的基本知识将用于开发新产品，这些产品将针对此类材料的特定应用。

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.