Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) assemble into water-resilient materials in the presence of multivalent counter-ions. The essential mechanisms behind these assemblies are ion-ion correlation and specific ion effects. A network model shows that the interfibril attraction indirectly influences the wet modulus by a fourth power relationship to the solidity of the network (E-w proportional to phi(4)). Ions that induce both ion-ion correlation and specific ion effects significantly reduce the swelling of the films, and due to the nonlinear relationship dramatically increase the wet modulus. Herein, this network model is used to explain the elastoplastic behavior of wet films of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical (TEMPO)-oxidized, carboxymethylated, and phosphorylated CNFs in the presence of different counter-ions. The main findings are that the aspect ratio of the CNFs influences the ductility of the assemblies, that the bivalency of phosphorylate ligands probably limits the formation of interfibril complexes with divalent ions, and that a higher charge density increases the friction between fibrils by increasing the short-range attraction from ion-ion correlation and specific ion effects. These findings can be used to rationally design CNF materials for a variety of applications where wet strength, ductility, and transparency are important, such as biomaterials or substrates for bioelectronics.

Ion-induced assemblies of highly anisotropic nanoparticles can be explained by a model consisting of ion-ion correlation and specific ion effects: dispersion interactions, metal-ligand complexes, and local acidic environments. Films of cellulose nanofibrils and montmorillonite clay were treated with different ions, and their subsequent equilibrium swelling in water was related to important parameters of the model in order to investigate the relative importance of the mechanisms. Ion-ion correlation was shown to be the fundamental attraction, supplemented by dispersion interaction for polarizable ions such as Ca2+ and Ba2+, or metal-ligand complexes for ions such as Cu2+, Al3+ and Fe3+. Ions that form strong complexes induce local acidic environments that also contribute to the assembly. These findings are summarized in a comprehensive semi-quantitative model and are important for the design of nanomaterials and for understanding biological systems where specific ions are involved.

Designing engineering materials with high stiffness and high toughness is challenging as stiff materials tend to be brittle. Many biological materials realize this objective through multiscale (i.e., atomic- to macroscale) mechanisms that are extremely difficult to replicate in synthetic materials. Inspired from the architecture of such biological structures, we here present flow-assisted organization and assembly of renewable native cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), which yields highly anisotropic biofibers characterized by a unique combination of high strength (1010 MPa), high toughness (62 MJ m−3) and high stiffness (57 GPa). We observed that properties of the fibers are primarily governed by specific ion characteristics such as hydration enthalpy and polarizability. A fundamental facet of this study is thus to elucidate the role of specific anion binding following the Hofmeister series on the mechanical properties of wet fibrillar networks, and link this to the differences in properties of dry nanostructured fibers. This knowledge is useful for rational design of nanomaterials and is critical for validation of specific ion effect theories. The bioinspired assembly demonstrated here is relevant example for designing high-performance materials with absolute structural control.

Cationic latexes with T_gs ranging between −40 °C and 120 °C were synthesised using n-butyl acrylate (BA) and/or methyl methacrylate (MMA) as the core polymers. Reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) combined with polymerisation-induced self-assembly (PISA) allowed for in situ chain-extension of a cationic macromolecular RAFT agent (macroRAFT) of poly(N-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl] methacrylamide) (PDMAPMA), used as stabiliser in so-called surfactant-free emulsion polymerisation. The resulting narrowly distributed nanosized latexes adsorbed readily onto silica surfaces and to model surfaces of cellulose nanofibrils, as demonstrated by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) measurements. Adsorption to anionic surfaces increased when increasing ionic strength to 10 mM, indicating the influence of the polyelectrolyte effect exerted by the corona. The polyelectrolyte corona affected the interactions in the wet state, the stability of the latex and re-dispersibility after drying. The QCM-D measurements showed that a lower T_g of the core results in a more strongly interacting adsorbed layer at the solid–liquid interface, despite a comparable adsorbed mass, indicating structural differences of the investigated latexes in the wet state. The two latexes with T_g below room temperature (i.e. PBA_Tg-40 and P(BA-co-MMA)_Tg3) exhibited film formation in the wet state, as shown by AFM colloidal probe measurements. It was observed that P(BA-co-MMA)_Tg3 latex resulted in the largest pull-off force, above 200 m Nm⁻¹ after 120 s in contact. The strongest wet adhesion was achieved with PDMAPMA-stabilized latexes soft enough to allow for interparticle diffusion of polymer chains, and stiff enough to create a strong adhesive joint. Fundamental understanding of interfacial properties of latexes and cellulose enables controlled and predictive strategies to produce strong and tough materials with high nanocellulose content, both in the wet and dry state.

Supramolecular double network films, consisting of cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) entangled with the algal polysaccharides alginate or carrageenan, were prepared using a rapid vacuum filtration process to achieve water-resistant CNF nanopapers with excellent mechanical properties in both the wet and dry states following the locking of the structures using Ca2+. The rigid network of calcium alginate was more efficient than the more flexible network of calcium carrageenan and 10% by weight of alginate was sufficient to form a network that suppressed the swelling of the CNF film by over 95%. The resulting material could be compared to a stiff rubber with a Young's modulus of 135 MPa, a tensile strength of 17 MPa, a strain-at-break above 55%, and a work of fracture close to 5 MJ m(-3) in the wet state, which was both significantly stronger and more ductile than the calcium-treated CNF reference nanopaper. It was shown that the state in which Ca2+ was introduced is crucial, and it is also hypothesized that the alginate works as a sacrificial network that prevents the CNF from aligning during loading and that this leads to the increased toughness. The material maintained its barrier properties at elevated relative humidities and the extensibility and ductility made possible hygroplastic forming into three-dimensional shapes. It is suggested that the attractive force in the CNF part of the double network in the presence of multivalent ions is due to the ion-ion correlation forces generated by the fluctuating counter-ion cloud, since no significant ion coordination was observed using FTIR.