Halloysite nanotubes enhance the mechanical properties and thermal stability of iridescent cellulose nanocrystal films

Huan Gao; Miguel A Soto; Joanna K Szymkowiak; Lucas J Andrew; Wadood Y Hamad; Mark J MacLachlan

doi:10.1039/d3dt00498h

Halloysite nanotubes enhance the mechanical properties and thermal stability of iridescent cellulose nanocrystal films

Dalton Trans. 2023 May 30;52(21):7136-7142. doi: 10.1039/d3dt00498h.

Authors

Huan Gao^{1

2}, Miguel A Soto¹, Joanna K Szymkowiak¹, Lucas J Andrew¹, Wadood Y Hamad³, Mark J MacLachlan^{1

4

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of British Columbia, 2036 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z1, Canada. mmaclach@chem.ubc.ca.
² Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomedical Functional Materials and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Biofunctional Materials, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China.
³ Transformation and Interfaces Group, Bioproducts, FPInnovations, 2665 East Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
⁴ Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute, University of British Columbia, 2355 East Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
⁵ WPI Nano Life Science Institute, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, 920-1192, Japan.
⁶ Bioproducts Institute, University of British Columbia, 2360 East Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z3, Canada.

PMID: 37159279
DOI: 10.1039/d3dt00498h

Abstract

Films of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) with chiral nematic organization can show vivid iridescence that arises from their hierarchical structure. Unfortunately, the brittleness of the films limits their potential applications. In this paper, we investigate the incorporation of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) into CNC films to prepare organic-inorganic composite films with enhanced mechanical properties, while preserving the chiral nematic structure and brilliant iridescence. The hybrid composite films containing 10 wt% HNTs are more elastic than pristine CNC films, with a 1.3-fold increase in tensile strength and a 1.6-fold increase in maximum strain. As well, the incorporation of HNTs slightly improves the thermal stability of the composite films. These materials mimic the hybrid composite structures of crab shells, leading to enhanced mechanical properties and thermal stability of CNC films while maintaining iridescence.