Helical Twisting of Electrospun Liquid Crystalline Cellulose Micro‐ and Nanofibers†
This work was supported by the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT) through Projects POCI/CTM/56382/2004 and POCTI/CTM/38330/2001, and through Pluriannual contracts with CENIMAT/I3N and ICEMS; and by the GRICES/Treaty of Windsor Programme through grant no. B‐20/08. J. P. Canejo gratefully acknowledges FCT for grant SFRH/BD/37958/2007.
Abstract
Helically twisted fibers can be produced by electrospinning liquid‐crystalline cellulose solutions. Fiber topographies are studied by atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (see figure) and polarized optical microscopy. The fibers have a nearly universal pitch‐to‐diameter ratio and comprise both right‐ and left‐handed helices.
