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The authors describe how sustainable textile fibers from crops such as quinoa, grass, hops, corn and wheat stems, etc. have recently begun to generate great interest. The structure-property relationships of such non-conventional cellulose fibers are studied in this brief, as are their sorption and surface properties which are of primary importance. A systematic review of each fiber´s properties is given, the emphasis is placed on the water sorption capacity, the fiber´s surface potential, and fibrillation properties.

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Introduction.- Anatomy of plant fibres.- Non-conventional plant fibres.- Structure and properties of non-conventional cellulose fibres.- Cellulose nanofibres.- Preparation of cellulose nanocrystals CNC from nettle, weeping willow, balm-leaved archangle, lucerne and Spanish broom.- Conclusion.- References.

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Majda Sfiligoj Smole is a Professor in the field of material science. Her teaching and research topics: Fibres´ structure - properties relationships of natural and man-made fibres and fibres´ modification for their functionalisation. Recently her research was focused mainly in nanotechnological modification of textiles and sustainable textile materials. Silvo Hribernik is a Scientific Associate at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Faculty of Electrical engineering and Computer Science, University of Maribor. Main area of his research is development of fibre-based functional materials with implementation of nanotechnology.
Manja Kurecic is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor. She has 14-years of experiences in the field of nanostructured materials; i.e. nanocomposites (particles, hydrogels) and nanofibrous membranes (electrospun), that can find applications in biomedical area, water purification and other technical applications, as well as their modification and characterization.
Andreja Urbanek Krajnc studied Botany at the Karl-Franzens University Graz, Austria and earned her PhD in 2004. Since 2007 she is working at the Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Maribor. Research fields: structural botany, plant cell biology, plant physiology.

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