Self-assembled liquid crystal film from mechanically defibrillated chitosan nanofibers

Wet-grinding and high-pressure homogenization were combined to defibrillate chitosan particles into nanoscaled fibrils, and the obtained nanofiber was made into a high strength liquid crystal film by self-organization at relatively low temperature. Mechanically disassembled chitosan nanofibers showed an average diameter of 50 nm. The fabricated transparent liquid crystal film had a high tensile strength of 100.5 ± 4.0 MPa and a Young's modulus of 2.2 ± 0.2 GPa due to its ordered, layered, and porous-free structure. A green, efficient and reliable approach for producing chitosan nanofibers and liquid crystal film has been developed.