Nanocellulose gel: a new high-porosity three-dimensional network green gel material

Nanocellulose gel is the core form with the highest application value and the strongest process implementation in the nanocellulose material system. It is a three-dimensional network hydrogel functional material formed by refined dissociation, homogeneous dispersion, and controllable self-assembly using natural bamboo and agricultural and forestry biomass as raw materials. Different from conventional forms such as powder, solution, and film, nanocellulose gel relies on the natural entanglement and hydrogen bonding cross-linking of nanoscale ultrafine fibers to form a stable, complete, and controllable three-dimensional colloidal structure, which has excellent structural stability, porous and permeable properties, controllable rheological properties, and natural biocompatibility. With its core characteristics of being 100% biodegradable, non-toxic and harmless, and highly adaptable and modified, it has completely made up for the shortcomings of traditional chemically synthesized gels such as difficulty in degradation, easy sensitization, pollution residues, and poor rheological properties. It is currently a high-end green substrate in the fields of biomedicine, environmentally friendly water purification, daily chemical coatings, and functional composite materials. As a high-tech enterprise specializing in the research and development and mass production of biomass nanomaterials, Nanjing Tianlu Nanotechnology Co., Ltd. has deeply cultivated the technical track of nanocellulose gels and has overcome common industrial problems in the industry such as gel water release, layered gel breakage, uneven pore size, viscosity fluctuations, and poor storage stability. Relying on its independently developed green preparation process and standardized mass production system, the company can stably output multi-specification, multi-functional, and highly consistent nanocellulose gel products. It also supports personalized functional modification customization and provides customers in various industries with integrated green gel solutions from material adaptation, process optimization to practical application.

1. What is nanocellulose gel?？

Nanocellulose gel is a pure bio-based three-dimensional network hydrogel system. It uses pure natural biomass nanocellulose as the only base material. It does not need to rely on chemical cross-linking agents or harmful additives. It is formed by independent cross-linking through physical entanglement and molecular hydrogen bonds. In a pure aqueous dispersion system, ultra-fine nanofibers spread evenly and overlap each other, eventually forming a continuous, dense, three-dimensional network colloid structure, which perfectly combines the structural support of solids with the flexible adaptability of fluids. Under normal conditions, the gel has a complete body and a uniform and full texture. It will not suffer from failure problems such as settlement, delamination, water leakage, and gel breakage after being left standing for a long time. It has extremely strong structural stability.

By accurately controlling the degree of fiber dissociation, dispersion concentration, and cross-linking molding conditions, the internal pore structure of the gel can be precisely controlled to form uniformly connected nano- and micron-level multi-level pore channels. The porosity can be flexibly adjusted according to the application scenario. Compared with traditional chemical gels such as polyacrylamide, gelatin, and synthetic polymers, nanocellulose gels are prepared entirely from renewable agricultural and forestry raw materials. The production process is green and low-consumption. The finished product can be completely biodegraded in the natural environment without any harmful residues and secondary pollution. It has a higher biosafety level and perfectly fits the dual-carbon strategy, plastic ban policy and green upgrade standards of various industries. It is a new generation of high-end environmentally friendly functional materials that replace traditional synthetic gels.

2. Nanocellulose gel core structure and gel properties

The core competitiveness of nanocellulose gel in the market stems from its unique microscopic network structure and controllable gel properties. It is also its core technical advantage that distinguishes it from ordinary cellulose powder, ordinary aqueous colloids, and traditional synthetic gels. All properties are based on the self-assembly of pure biomass fibers, without interference from external chemical additives, with stable performance and wide adaptability. The specific core gel properties are as follows:

1. Stable three-dimensional network gel structure

Ultra-fine nanofibers are omnidirectionally disordered overlapped and firmly cross-linked by multi-point hydrogen bonds in the aqueous system to build a continuous and uninterrupted three-dimensional network skeleton. This molding method makes the overall structure of the gel dense and uniform, with balanced forces, and has excellent structural stability and shape retention capabilities. Under normal storage, standing at room temperature, and normal working conditions, the gel will not suffer from water separation, shrinkage, delamination, fiber agglomeration, etc. It completely solves the common industry problems of ordinary biomass gels that are loose, poor in stability, and prone to failure, and is fully adapted to the needs of industrial long-term storage and batch applications.

2. Controllable porous and high porosity structure

A large number of through-type multi-level microporous channels are formed inside the gel, with uniform pore distribution, controllable pore size, ultra-large specific surface area and excellent pore penetration. The unique porous structure gives the gel strong physical adsorption, material loading, water retention and slow release capabilities. It can stably absorb and retain tiny impurities, load functional active ingredients, and at the same time achieve long-term sustained release and uniform release. It can accurately adapt to refined application scenarios such as drug carriers, skin moisturizing, water adsorption, filtration and retention, and loading of functional fillers.

3.Excellent thixotropic rheological properties

Nanocellulose gel has reversible thixotropic rheology properties that are rare in the industry and is suitable for various industrial construction and processing scenarios. In a static state, the fiber network is tightly cross-linked, the gel viscosity is high, the body is stable, and it does not flow, hang, or settle; when subjected to external forces such as stirring, coating, extrusion, shearing, etc., the network structure temporarily stretches and dissociates, and the viscosity of the system decreases rapidly. The fluidity is greatly improved, the construction is smooth, and the adaptability is strong; after the external force is stopped, the fiber network can quickly and independently reorganize the cross-linking, and instantly restore the original gel state and viscosity. It is an ideal environmentally friendly rheology additive in the fields of coatings, daily chemicals, dressings, and functional slurries.

4. Highly biocompatible, pure green and degradable

Nanocellulose gel is prepared entirely from natural biomass raw materials. No toxic or harmful chemical additives are added during the production process. The finished product is non-toxic, non-irritating, non-allergenic, and has excellent biocompatibility and environmental safety. It is safe and reliable when used in human contact, food contact, and medical scenarios. It can be naturally degraded in the soil and water environment after being discarded, completely returning to nature, with no solid waste residue and no environmental pollution. It perfectly matches the current global industry development trend of low-carbon emission reduction, green substitution, safety and environmental protection.

3. Core advantages of Nanjing Tianlu Nanotechnology gel preparation

At present, most nanocellulose gel products in the domestic market still have obvious process shortcomings, which are generally manifested as insufficient fiber dissociation, poor gel uniformity, easy water separation and gel breakage during storage, large batch performance differences, inability to accurately control pore size and viscosity, and unstable functional modification effects. They can only meet the needs of low-end basic scenarios and cannot adapt to the needs of high-end industrialization and precision applications. Nanjing Tianlu Nanotechnology has been deeply engaged in the industrialization of nanocellulose gels for many years, focusing on the core process of gel molding, and has built a fully closed-loop green production system from raw material selection, refined dissociation, graded homogenization, controllable cross-linking to stabilization post-processing, completely solving the industry's common technical pain points.

The company can accurately control the fiber aspect ratio, gel cross-linking density, internal pore structure, system viscosity grade and gel molding strength according to customers' differentiated scenario needs. The mass-produced products are uniform in shape and extremely stable. They will not stratify, water or break during long-term storage at room temperature, and the batch consistency is industry-leading. At the same time, relying on mature functional modification technology, multi-functional customized products such as hydrophobic nanocellulose gel, high-strength structural gel, long-lasting sustained release gel, conductive composite gel, and antibacterial gel can be customized to fully cover general civilian scenarios and high-end precision industrial scenarios, providing customers with green gel customization solutions that are highly adaptable, implementable, and mass-produced.

4. Mainstream application scenarios of nanocellulose gel

With its stable and controllable three-dimensional gel structure, excellent porous loading performance, reversible thixotropic rheological properties and pure natural green properties, Nanjing Tianlu Nanotechnology nanocellulose gel breaks through the application limitations of traditional gel materials and achieves large-scale implementation in multiple high-end industrial fields. It has become the core new material to replace traditional chemical gels. The mainstream application scenarios are as follows:

1. Biomedical gel base material

Nanocellulose gel is safe, non-toxic, has excellent biocompatibility, and has a porous structure that is breathable and moisturizing. It can stably absorb wound exudate and isolate external bacterial contamination. At the same time, it continues to maintain a moist repair environment on the wound surface and promotes cell attachment, proliferation and tissue regeneration. Based on its excellent sustained-release performance, it can efficiently load various medical active ingredients and achieve long-lasting and uniform release. It is widely used in high-end medical and health scenarios such as medical wound repair dressings, skin moisturizing repair gels, drug sustained-release carriers, tissue engineering scaffolds, and medical care base materials. Its safety and use effects far exceed traditional chemical gel dressings.

2. Environmentally friendly adsorption and water purification gel materials

Relying on the internal three-dimensional porous structure, nanocellulose gel has extremely strong physical adsorption, impurity interception and oil-water separation capabilities. It can efficiently absorb tiny suspended impurities, organic pollutants, and trace heavy metal impurities in water. It can also achieve precise oil-water separation through modification. The material is green and degradable, can be recycled repeatedly, and has no secondary pollution. It is suitable for environmentally friendly water purification scenarios such as industrial oily wastewater treatment, domestic sewage purification, interception of trace pollutants in water bodies, environmentally friendly filter substrates, and adsorption of oil slicks on the sea surface. It is a new environmentally friendly functional gel material that is lightweight and low-carbon.

3. Rheological gel additives for coatings and daily chemicals

Utilizing unique shear-thinning thixotropic properties, nanocellulose gel is an excellent environmentally friendly rheology additive and thickening stabilizer for water-based systems. Added to water-based coatings, industrial slurries, skin care gels, and cleaning and daily chemical products, it can effectively improve the system consistency and suspension stability, completely solve the problem of sedimentation and stratification of pigments and fillers, and at the same time optimize the coating workability, eliminate defects such as coating sagging and uneven thickness, improve the flatness, fineness, and storage cycle stability of the finished product. It is green, non-volatile, and has no harmful additions. It is suitable for the production standards of high-end environmentally friendly coatings and mild daily chemical products.

4. Composite functional gel substrate

Nanocellulose gel has excellent compound modification adaptability and can be deeply compounded with various polymer materials, functional powders, and intelligent response additives to prepare functional composite gels with diverse properties. It can create new functional materials such as self-healing flexible gel, conductive energy storage gel, temperature-sensitive / photosensitive intelligent response gel, and high-strength structural gel, which are widely used in cutting-edge fields such as flexible electronics, intelligent sensing, energy storage devices, lightweight industrial composite materials, and precision functional substrates, providing a new technological path for the high-end intelligent new material industry.

5. Fresh-keeping and packaging functional gel

With excellent water-locking and moisturizing, breathable buffering, antibacterial safety and degradable properties, nanocellulose gel can be used to prepare fresh fruit and vegetable moisturizing and fresh-keeping gels, food buffering and protective gel cushions, and green packaging protective substrates. It can not only maintain the humidity environment of fresh products for a long time, delay the oxidative deterioration of food materials, but also has good flexible buffering properties. It can replace traditional foams and chemical preservation gels, achieving both preservation and green environmental protection. It is a new functional substrate in the field of green packaging and fresh food cold chain.

5. Development prospects of nanocellulose gel industry

Currently, the global new materials industry is moving toward green, low-carbon, safe, and functional iterations. Traditional synthetic gels and chemical colloid materials generally have many pain points such as difficulty in natural degradation, high production pollution, easy sensitization of finished products, high solid waste treatment costs, and high environmental compliance pressure. They are no longer able to meet the dual needs of high-end industries and policy compliance, and there is huge room for market substitution. Relying on the comprehensive advantages of completely bio-based raw materials, zero harmful additions, 100% degradability, controllable structure and function, and wide scene adaptability, nanocellulose gel perfectly solves the industry pain points of ' limited performance of traditional gels and insufficient stability of green gels ' , and has become the core direction of iterative upgrades of gel materials.

In the future, green bio-based functional gels will completely replace traditional chemical gels and penetrate into subdivided application scenarios in various industries. Nanjing Tianlu Nanotechnology will continue to deepen the research and development and process iteration of nanocellulose gel core technology, continuously optimize gel stability, functional diversity and mass production consistency, and continue to enrich standardized, customized and functional nanocellulose gel product systems. With its hard-core technical strength and mature mass production capabilities, it provides high-performance, low-carbon, environmentally friendly, stable and reliable gel material solutions for biomedicine, environmentally friendly water purification, daily chemical coatings, intelligent new materials, green packaging and other industries. It continues to assist the green and low-carbon transformation and upgrading of various industries and leads the high-quality development of the industrialization of new biomass gel materials.