Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 December 2015
Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) is an emerging renewable nanomaterial that ispromising for many diverse applications. As a renewable material, NCC and itsderivatives have been widely studied, focusing on their biological, chemical, aswell as mechanical properties. The electro-optical properties of NCC, however,remain relatively under explored. Birefringence is one of the importantproperties that make the NCC very attractive for photonic applications. Therode-like NCC fibers dispersed in certain solutions exhibit a specific preferredorientation which depends on their electrical charge, physical dimensions andthe type of solutions used to disperse NCC fibers. In a recent study ofKerr-effect in functionalized NCC solutions, we demonstrated that it is possibleto control the orientation of NCC fibers under an applied electric field.NCC-based spatial light modulator devices were fabricated and characterized.Results showed that the transmittance of the device can be controlled throughfrequency modulation of the applied electric field. In this paper we present thefabrication and electro-optical characterization of the device and discuss therelevant properties of NCC and future approaches to optimize and improve theircharacteristics and performance.