Natural cellulose based self-assembly towards designed functionalities

The layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assemble method is a promising strategy to integrate the physiochemical properties of the guest components with those of the various substrates for the design and preparation of functional materials with desirable structures and specific properties. The distinct hierarchical structures and morphologies of natural cellulosic substances (e.g. ordinary laboratory filter paper) provides ideal platforms for the surface modification with various guest species that are immobilized or deposited onto the surfaces of the exquisite structure details. The surface sol–gel technique was used to deposit ultrathin metal oxide gel film to uniformly coat the cellulose nanofibers of bulk cellulose substances and for further modification with various functional building blocks to fabricate nanostructured materials. Various guest components were successively assembled onto the surfaces of the cellulose nanofibers by means of the LbL self-assembly approach, resulting the corresponding functional materials. This methodology shows prospective potentials for designing and fabricating nanostructured materials with the combination of the structures of the natural cellulosic substances and the specific functionalities of the guest species towards superhydrophobic surfaces, chemosensors, photocatalysts, antibacterial matters and electrode materials.