Crystalline nanoxylan from hot water extracted wood xylan at multi-length scale: Molecular assembly from nanocluster hydrocolloids to submicron spheroids

As a contribution to expand accessibility in the territory of bio-based nanomaterials, we demonstrate a novel material strategy to convert amorphous xylan preserved in wood biomass to hierarchical assemblies of crystalline nanoxylan on a multi-length scale. By reducing the end group in pressurized hot water extracted (PHWE) xylan to primary alcohol as a xylitol form with borohydride reduction, the endwise-peeling depolymerization is effectively impeded in the alkali-catalyzed hydrolytic cleavage of side substitutions in xylan. Nanoprecipitation by a gradual pH decrease resulted in a stable hydrocolloid dispersion in the form of worm-like nanoclusters assembled with primary crystallites, owing to the self-assembly of debranched xylan driven by strong intra- and inter-chain H-bonds. With evaporation-induced self-assembly, we can further construct the hydrocolloids as dry submicron spheroids of crystalline nanoxylan (CNX) with a high average elastic modulus of 47–83 GPa. Taking the advantage that the chain length and homogeneity of PHWE-xylan can be tailored, a structure-performance correlation was established between the structural order in CNX and the phosphorescent emission of this crystalline biopolymer. Rigid clusterization and high crystallinity that are constructed by strong intra- and inter-molecule interactions within the nanoxylan effectively restrict the molecular motion, thereby promoting the emission of ultralong organic phosphorescence.