A facile approach for isolation of cellulose nanocrystals from banana fibres

Abstract

Nanocellulose, in form of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC-B) from banana fibres, has been isolated through steam explosion followed by chemical treatments and mechanical grinding. The nano size of isolated particles is confirmed by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy analysis and an aspect ratio up to 9.80 is reported. The improvement in crystallinity and removal of amorphous constituents are confirmed by X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared  analysis respectively. It is interesting to report that the present CNC-B is unable to show an antibacterial property, which might be due to complete removal of lignin.