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Cellulose nanocomposites by supramolecular chemistry engineering

Nature Reviews Materials volume 10, pages 728–749 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Increasing environmental concerns demand the replacement of petroleum with renewable, sustainable resources to produce biodegradable and carbon-neutral products. As a natural, abundant and versatile biopolymer, cellulose has long been used in traditional applications such as paper and textiles and is now emerging in advanced fields including energy storage, healthcare, food, cosmetics, and paints and emulsions. Supramolecular chemistry offers a powerful strategy for engineering cellulose nanocomposites through specific, directional, tunable and reversible non-covalent interactions between nanocellulose and matrix components to achieve certain mechanical, chemical and biological properties. In this Review, we present the multiscale supramolecular engineering of cellulose nanocomposites and their fabrication and processing into materials. We provide a material and structural perspective of how the mechanical, ionic, optical and thermal properties and the environmental degradability of these nanocomposites can be regulated through supramolecular chemistry. Finally, we discuss how these approaches might address circularity and environmental sustainability goals, and we highlight major challenges and future prospects in the field, calling for further attention on supramolecular chemistry engineering to maximize the potential of these materials.

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Fig. 1: Hierarchical structure and pretreatments of cellulose.
Fig. 2: Supramolecular chemistry engineering strategies towards cellulose nanocomposites.
Fig. 3: Fabrication and processing strategies towards cellulose nanocomposites.
Fig. 4: Representative supramolecular approaches to control material properties of cellulose nanocomposites.

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Acknowledgements

C.C. thanks the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 22461142135, 52273091, and 22478307) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant no. 691000003) for the financial support. E.L. acknowledges the University of the Basque Country (GIU21/010). S.J.E. acknowledges support from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/V002651/1) for a fellowship.

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Lu Chen, Le Yu.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hubei Biomass-Resource Chemistry and Environmental Biotechnology Key Laboratory, School of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

    Lu Chen, Le Yu, Luhe Qi & Chaoji Chen

  2. Bristol Composites Institute, School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

    Stephen J. Eichhorn

  3. Department of Biomaterials Science, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Akira Isogai

  4. Life Cycle Thinking Group, Department of Graphic Design and Engineering Projects, Faculty of Engineering in Bilbao, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Bilbao, Spain

    Erlantz Lizundia

  5. BCMaterials, Basque Center for Materials, Applications and Nanostructures, UPV/EHU Science Park, Leioa, Spain

    Erlantz Lizundia

  6. Forest Products Laboratory, USDA Forest Service, Madison, WI, USA

    J. Y. Zhu

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Contributions

C.C. and L.C. proposed the topic of the Review and collected the research data. C.C., L.C., L.Y. and L.Q. collaboratively designed and made the figures. C.C., L.C., L.Y., S.J.E., A.I., E.L. and J.Y.Z. contributed to writing the manuscript. All authors made substantial contributions to the discussion of the content and reviewed and edited the manuscript prior to submission.

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Chen, L., Yu, L., Qi, L. et al. Cellulose nanocomposites by supramolecular chemistry engineering. Nat Rev Mater 10, 728–749 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-025-00810-5

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