Optically active polyaniline film based on cellulose nanocrystals

Chiral transfer from cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) chiral nematic liquid crystal to polyaniline (PANI) is successfully achieved through co-assembly method for the first time, affording the PANI film based on CNCs optical activity. Meanwhile, the CNCs/PANI composite film displays notable Cotton effect ascribed to the polaron band transitions of PANI in circular dichroism (CD) spectrum. Hydrogen bond and electrostatic attraction favor the combination of two molecular chains in the mixed aqueous suspension and will lead to the chiral assembly of the PANI in the host chiral nematic film. However, the CD signal disappears when cholesteric phase collapse by acid protonation, and which demonstrates the chiral nematic ordering of the CNCs is essential to the chiral transfer. With the assistance of CNCs, PANI chains form a helically stacked structure. Thus, the optical activity of PANI originates from its long range organization.