Title
Studies on cellulose nanocrystals extracted from Musa sapientum: structural and bonding aspects
Authors
DEBABRATA DAS SHAMIMA HUSSAIN ANUP KUMAR GHOSH and ARUN KUMAR PAL

Received May 12, 2017
Published Volume 52 Issue 9-10 October-December
Keywords cellulose nanocrystals, XRD, FTIR, XPS, Raman

Abstract
Cellulose fibers were obtained from banana pseudo-stems and subjected to different treatments to achieve nanocrystals. The cellulose materials obtained after different stages of extraction were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). XRD measurements revealed higher crystalline cellulose content in the acid hydrolyzed sample than in the raw fiber, with crystallite sizes of ~3.5 nm. XPS results indicated a significant intensity decrease of the peak located at ~285 eV, corresponding to the non-cellulosic component, in the spectrum of the raw fiber, as compared to that of the acid hydrolyzed sample. Raman studies indicated higher content of sp2 hybridized carbon in the raw fiber, due to its high amorphous carbon content, while acid treated crystalline samples showed significantly higher sp3 hybridized carbon content, indicating higher crystallinity. FTIR studies indicated that the raw material contained the highest amount of sp2 bonded carbon and the acid treated crystalline samples contained the most sp3 bonded carbon.