The conditions of hydrolysis can be adjusted to deliver different CNC properties for the target applications. For instance, for polymer processing applications, the optimal conditions are ~60 wt.% sulfuric acid, 55 ℃ for 25 min, and this condition corresponds to a high CNC yield (~70%) . For applications requiring a large double electrical layer as in optical applications, the optimal conditions are 64 wt.% sulfuric acid, 45 ℃, in 25 min, and these correspond to a lower CNC yield (~30%) . Specific conditions of hydrolysis also determine whether oligomers precipitate on the CNC surfaces or remain primarily dissolved in the suspension. Hydrolysis at 55 ℃ (and 60 wt.% sulfuric acid) can degrade small sugars to DP<6, and these sugars are soluble in water. Hydrolysis at 45℃ can yield longer sugar chains (DP>6), which are soluble in acidic solutions but insoluble in water, so quenching (×5 lower acid concentration) will make sugars irreversibly precipitate onto CNC surfaces, forming a sugar layer that leads to a larger double electrical layer .