All-Aqueous Liquid Crystal Nanocellulose Emulsions with Permeable Interfacial Assembly

We report on the formation of water-in-water liquid crystal emulsions with permeable colloidal assemblies. Rodlike cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) spontaneously self-assemble into a helical arrangement with the coexistence of nonionic, hydrophilic polyethylene glycol (PEG) and dextran, whereas the two polymer solutions are thermodynamically incompatible. Stable water-in-water emulsions are easily prepared by mixing the respective CNC/polymer...