Cellulose nanocrystals are a kind of sustainable nanoparticles from biomass. We reviewed their unique advantages in material applications due to their rod-like morphology and crystalline structure of biocompatible nanoparticles, as well as their dimension-related effects and multi-level order structure. Then, we mentioned the molecular engineering of CNC, including the structural, physical, and chemical properties of their surface, along with the surface-modification method, and steric effect and even functions based on molecular engineering regulation. We further discussed the performance-improvement and functionalization methods based on controlling the interactions in the multicomponent complex phase/system, and the assembly-control methods on the achiral array of CNC for luminescence-enhanced optical anti-counterfeiting. In the end, we prospected the design, development, and construction methods of new CNC materials.

New cellulose nanocrystal-based materials:From surface chemistry to materials fabrication