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openaire: EC/H2020/788489/EU//BioELCell Funding Information: The authors would like to acknowledge financial support from the Canada Excellence Research Chair Program (CERC‐2018‐00006), the Canada Foundation for Innovation (Project number 38623), and the European Commission Horizon 2020 ERC Advanced program (grant agreement No. 788489 “BioElCell”). The authors would also like to thank the UBC Bioimaging facility (RRID: SCR_021304) for providing confocal microscopy, SEM, and TEM equipment. Y.L. would like to thank Eun Kyoung Lee, Naoji Yubuki, and Derrick Horne at the UBC Bioimaging facility for technical support. The authors are thankful to Ms. Ayako Takagi for the help with illustrations. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Small published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. Non-equilibrium multiphase systems are formed by mixing two immiscible nanoparticle dispersions, leading to bicontinuous emulsions that template cryogels with interconnected, tortuous channels. Herein, a renewable, rod-like biocolloid (chitin nanocrystals, ChNC) is used to kinetically arrest bicontinuous morphologies. Specifically, it is found that ChNC stabilizes intra-phase jammed bicontinuous systems at an ultra-low particle concentration (as low as 0.6 wt.%), leading to tailorable morphologies. The synergistic effects of ChNC high aspect ratio, intrinsic stiffness, and interparticle interactions produce hydrogelation and, upon drying, lead to open channels bearing dual characteristic sizes, suitably integrated into robust bicontinuous ultra-lightweight solids. Overall, it demonstrates the successful formation of ChNC-jammed bicontinuous emulsions and a facile emulsion templating route to synthesize chitin cryogels that form unique super-macroporous networks. |
