Cellulose Nanocrystal from Washingtonia Fibre and Its Characterization

Abstract

Cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) is a biomaterial derived from plant lignocellulosic components, widely applied in various industrial fields. Concurrently, with the growth of awareness in developing green nanomaterial, the explored Washingtonia fibre could be alternative biomass for obtaining CNC products. In the present work, different acid concentrations of 5%, 15%, and 25% hydrochloric solutions were employed to produce CNCs from Washingtonia fibre. With the chemical treatments, the yield of the CNC product was successfully retained at 21.6%−25.1%. Individually separated and needle-shaped CNC particles could be observed under the microscopic viewing with the increased acid concentrations. From elemental analysis, a relatively pure cellulose compartment was produced for all CNC samples. The zeta potential values between −10 to −16 mV proved that each nanopar-ticle sample possessed dispersion ability within an aqueous solution. Meanwhile, the degree of crystallinity and the thermal behavior of CNCs were enhanced with the increased acidic concentrations. Hence, the isolated CNCs (with 15%) from Washingtonia fibre lead a CNC with the highest aspect ratio (30). This parameter is so important that these structures show empowering points of view as nanomaterials for reinforced polymer composites, and it could be a reliable nano-filler for the composite fabrication process in the future.