Fabrication of Cellulose Nanocrystal Films through Differential Evaporation for Patterned Coatings

Cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) films were patterned by controlling the evaporation time of CNC suspensions. It is known that the evaporation time, and by extension the self-assembly process, influences the optical properties of the resulting films, but the patterning of CNC films has not been extensively investigated. Here, we demonstrate an easy new approach to the patterning of CNC films by varying the evaporation time at different regions of a drying CNC suspension, which produce films with drastically different optical properties. Furthermore, the application of cellulose acetate masks to restrict evaporation can also be used to develop patterned CNC films.