The sulphuric acid hydrolysis of cellulose microfibrils allows to obtain stable suspensions of microcrystals also called "whiskers". Whiskers of different geometry and surface charge were prepared from cellulose of various origins (cotton, Avicel, sugar beet, tunicate) and characterized by optical and electron microscopy as well as X-ray scattering at small and large angles. The influence of the geometry of whiskers and the physicochemical parameters on the self‑organization properties in water and apolar organic solvents were studied and phase diagrams were determined for both systems. Nanostructured materials reproducing the helicoidal organizations observed in living organisms were prepared using cellulose whiskers organized in a cholesteric phase, dispersed in a photopolymerizable solvent/monomer.
