Harvesting nature’s treasure from agricultural biomass: Spatholobus parviflorus unveiled as a source of nano-scaled crystalline cellulose
摘要
Significant interest in developing sustainable cellulose-based materials has given importance in finding out greener extraction methods for the nanocellulose production from newer and efficient sources. Herein, we report the extraction of CNCs from the bark of Spatholobus parviflorus, an underutilized vine native to tropical regions. By employing a series of chemo-mechanical treatments, we successfully obtained CNCs that are characterized by an average diameter of 326.13 nm and an average length of 29.25 nm. S. parviflorus gave an appreciable yield of over 56% nanocellulose. The extracted CNCs exhibited a high crystallinity index of 95.02%. With its rapid growth rate and wide availability, S. parviflorus represents a viable candidate for large-scale production of CNCs. This work unveils this overlooked plant as an exciting new treasure trove of nanocellulose.