Effect of Ammonium Persulfate Concentration on Characteristics of Cellulose Nanocrystals from Oil Palm Frond

Abstract

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were successfully isolated from oil palm fronds (OPFs) using different concentrations of ammonium persulfate (APS), and their characteristics were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). APS oxidation effectively isolated CNCs with rod-like morphology in nanometer scale. The dimensions of the CNCs decreased with increasing APS concentration. FTIR and XRD analyses revealed that all the CNCs showed crystals in the form of cellulose I without crystal transformation occurring during APS treatment. The relative crystallinity of the CNCs increased with increasing APS concentration, whereas their thermal stability decreased. An APS concentration of 2 M was found to be optimal for isolating the CNCs.

Isolation and Properties of Cellulose Nanocrystals Fabricated by Ammonium Persulfate Oxidation from Sansevieria trifasciata Fibers

“…These findings were in good agreement with the previous studies [30]. Using a similar method of APS oxidation, the crystallinity index of the resulting CNCs was higher (87.4%) compared to that of other CNCs extracted from other cellulose sources such as oil palm frond (52.4%) [23], balsa (57.6%) and kapok (60.7%) [29], recycled medium-density fiberboard (63%) [30], sugarcane bagasse (76.5%) [21], borer powder of bamboo (69.8%) [39], Miscanthus x. Giganteus (70%) [24], lemon seeds (74.4%) [25], and industrial denim waste (83%) [27]. However, it was lower than the value for cotton liner (93.5%) [36].…”

“…The APS oxidation method has been applied to fabricate CNCs due to its simple one-step method and because it does not require pretreatment, has low toxicity and high solubility, and is cheaper [17]. CNCs have been successfully fabricated using the APS oxidation process from various cellulose-fiber-based materials, such as sugarcane bagasse pulp [21], cotton linters [22], an oil palm frond [23], Miscanthus x. Giganteus [24], lemon seeds [25], cotton pulp [26], and industrial denim waste [27]. The characteristics of the CNCs prepared with APS oxidation methods are strongly influenced by the oxidation parameters, such as the APS concentration, oxidation temperature, and oxidation time [19,23,[27][28][29][30].…”

“…CNCs have been successfully fabricated using the APS oxidation process from various cellulose-fiber-based materials, such as sugarcane bagasse pulp [21], cotton linters [22], an oil palm frond [23], Miscanthus x. Giganteus [24], lemon seeds [25], cotton pulp [26], and industrial denim waste [27]. The characteristics of the CNCs prepared with APS oxidation methods are strongly influenced by the oxidation parameters, such as the APS concentration, oxidation temperature, and oxidation time [19,23,[27][28][29][30]. Hu et al [28] investigated the influence of the oxidation temperature (65, 75, 85 • C) on the characteristics and drug delivery behaviors of CNCs prepared with the APS oxidation method from microcrystal celluloses (MCCs).…”

“…In addition to the temperature and time, the APS concentration also affects the properties of CNCs. Zaini et al [23] demonstrated that the crystallinity of CNCs increased with the increase in APS concentration, but their thermal stability decreased. Similar findings were also reported by Culsum et al [27], who investigated the influences of the oxidation time and APS concentration on the characteristics of CNCs isolated from industrial denim waste.…”

Production of cellulose nanocrystals extracted from Pennisetum purpureum fibers and its application as a lubricating additive in engine oil

“…In addition, the oxidation of ammonium persulfate (APS) can fabricate carboxylated cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs–COOH) directly from the cellulose source without any chemical pretreatment as in TEMPO-mediated oxidation, which is often conditioned to CNC sulfate prepared by an acid hydrolysis process [ 27 ]. The APS oxidation was extensively applied for the fabrication of CNCs from various natural cellulose resources such as flax, hemp, triticale, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC), Whatman CF1 paper [ 30 ], cotton [ 34 , 35 ], oil palm frond [ 36 ], sugarcane bagasse pulp [ 37 ], industrial denim waste [ 38 ], recycled medium-density fiberboards (MDF) [ 27 ], and lemon seeds [ 25 ]. So far, no study on the fabrication of CNCs from PP fibers via APS oxidation has been reported.…”