[en] We investigate the effect of shear flow applied during the drying of aqueous suspension of cellulose nanocrystals on optical reflective properties and structural characteristics of the resulting solidified films. Shear flow can significantly improve internal structural homogeneity of the films, while its effect on optical reflective properties is relatively minor. The measured width of the selective reflection peak is an order of magnitude larger than expected for an ideal helically modulated structure, which reflects a distribution of pitch values and possibly also of regimes of distorted helical modulation. We attribute these imperfections to the broad size distribution of the cellulose nanocrystals.
National Research Program of Slovenia P1-0192 ; Wallenberg Wood Science Center (WWSC) ; Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO)
[University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Science, Technology and Communication (FSTC) > Physics and Materials Science Research Unit >]
