Cellulose i nanolayers designed by self-assembly of its thiosemicarbazone on a gold substrate

Cellulose I nanolayers were designed by self-assembly of its thiosemicarbazide (TSC) on a gold substrate, used for selectively labeling the reducing end of cellulose in an amine N-oxide solvent system. The XPS studies show that the TSC derivatization of cellulose and the surface treatment of the Au substrate with the cellulose-TSC/NMMO solution provide a stable,cellulosic self-assembled monolayer (SAM). The scratched flakes of Au substrate confirms polycrystalline structure while a major diffraction pattern is consistent with an Au plane. The results show that the cellulosic nanolayer possess a structured morphology consisting of the cellulose-TSC derivatives fixed onto the Au substrate and gathered together in a fibrous form. The results also report the formation of short-chain cellulose I assemblies as powdery aggregates and the formation of regenerate cellulose mixture of cellulose I fibrils and cellulose II aggregates.