Preparation, properties and applications of polysaccharide nanocrystals in advanced functional nanomaterials: a review

Intensive exploration and research in the past few decades on polysaccharide nanocrystals, the highly crystalline nanoscale materials derived from natural resources, mainly focused originally on their use as a reinforcing nanophase in nanocomposites. However, these investigations have led to the emergence of more diverse potential applications exploiting the functionality of these nanomaterials. Based on the construction strategies of functional nanomaterials, this article critically and comprehensively reviews the emerging polysaccharide nanocrystal-based functional nanomaterials with special applications, such as biomedical materials, biomimetic optical nanomaterials, bio-inspired mechanically adaptive…