Tailoring Rheological Properties of Thermoresponsive Hydrogels through Block Copolymer Adsorption to Cellulose Nanocrystals.

This study investigates the adsorption of a block copolymer composed of a poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) cationic polyelectrolyte and a poly(di(ethylene glycol) methyl ethermethacrylate) (PDEGMA) on oxidized cellulose nanocrystals (TO-CNCs) to produce hydrogels. PDMEAMA- b-PDEGMA was synthesized by atom-transfer radical polymerization. The extent and dynamics of the adsorption of PDMAEMA- b-PDEGMA on TO-CNCs were determined by electromechanical microbalance and optical techniques. Electrostatic adsorption was identified on TO-CNCs with the quaternized block copolymer. Small-angle neutron scattering experiments were performed to investigate the polymer behavior on the TO-CNC surfaces. Depending on the temperature, block copolymer induces the aggregation of nanocrystals after adsorption by connecting CNCs bundles with block copolymer chains. A reversible liquid-to-gel transition, triggered by temperature, was clearly detected by rheological measurements for the copolymer-CNC mixtures. At the optimal copolymer to CNC ratio the viscosity increased by 4 orders of magnitude at low shear rates. These stimuli-responsive CNC-based materials could be used as injectable biomedical systems.

Breakdown and buildup mechanisms of cellulose nanocrystal suspensions under shear and upon relaxation probed by SAXS and SALS.

The breakdown and buildup mechanisms in concentrated cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) suspensions under shear and during relaxation upon cessation of shear were accessed by small-angle X-ray and light scattering combined with rheometry. The dynamic structural changes over nanometer to micrometer lengthscales were related to the well-known three-regime rheological behavior. In the shear-thinning regime I, the large liquid crystalline domains were progressively fragmented into micrometer-sized tactoids, with their cholesteric axis aligned perpendicular to the flow direction. The viscosity plateau of regime II was associated to a further disruption into submicrometer-sized elongated tactoids oriented along the velocity direction. At high shear rate, regime III corresponded to the parallel flow of individual CNCs along the velocity direction. Upon cessation of flow, the relaxation process occurred through a three-step buildup mechanisms: i) a fast reassembling of the individual CNCs into a nematic-like organization established up to micrometer lengthscales, ii) a slower formation of oriented large cholesteric domains, and iii) their isotropic redistribution.

Adsorption versus grafting of poly(N-Isopropylacrylamide) in aqueous conditions on the surface of cellulose nanocrystals.

This study proposes a grafting strategy of thermo-sensitive amine-terminated oligomers of Poly(N-Isopropylacrylamide) (Pnipam2500) onto the surface of Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNCs). Pnipam2500 grafting in aqueous condition via peptidic coupling was explored to obtain CNC hydrogel with thermo-reversible aggregation and new colloidal properties. A discussion between grafting vs adsorption /presence of the Pnipam2500 is proposed. A large range of experimental techniques was used to investigate the properties of the CNC decorated with polymer and to confirm the grafting. Elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, solid state NMR and conductometric titration of washed CNC-g-Pnipam2500 demonstrate that at least a part of Pnipam2500 was covalently bonded with CNC. A thermo-reversible aggregation was observed by Dynamic Light Scattering experiments and thermo-sensitive behavior is observed by rheological experiments. For grafted polymer the viscosity increases from 0.008 to 40 Pa∙s at low shear rate when the LCST is reached, whereas, in the case of polymer adsorption, the viscosity increases only from 0.002 to 0.3 Pa∙s. This thermo-reversible, bio-based and biocompatible system paves the way for the design of injectable hydrogel and biomedical nanocomposite materials.