Preparation and characterization of nanocrystalline cellulose from Pennisetum sinese

Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) was prepared by sulfuric acid hydrolysis from Pennisetum sinese. The effect of the sulfuric acid concentration, reaction temperature and reaction time on the separation process and the yield of cellulose were analysed. The optimized parameters were achieved by process optimization experiments. The morphological, spectroscopic, electrochemical and thermal properties of NCC were investigated by a transmission electron microscope (TEM), a Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), a Zetasizer and a Xray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that with the sulfuric acid concentration of 60%, reaction temperature of 60 ℃ and the reaction time of 150 min, the yield of NCC arrived 75.4%. NCC was rodlike with the diameter of 20 nm, the length of 100-200 nm. The XRD spectra showed that the crystallinity of NCC was higher than Pennisetum sinese Roxb fiber. Compared with Pennisetum sinese Roxb fiber, the Zeta potential of NCC was higher, which implied that NCC had a better stability.