Extraction of cellulose nanofibers from cocos nucifera var aurantiaca peduncle by ball milling combined with chemical treatment.

The development of bio-degradable, renewable and low-cost material is critical to meet the growing environmental concerns and energy demands. The present study emphasizes on the extraction of a new kind of Cellulose NanoFibers (CNFs) from peduncles which are a bio-waste product of Cocos nucifera var-Aurantiaca through ball milling combined with chemical treatment. The crystallinity index, presence of functional groups and elemental composition in CNFs were identified by employing XRD, FT-IR and EDX techniques. The thermal stability of CNFs was investigated by thermo-gravimetric analysis. The morphological analysis was performed by electron microscopy and the results showed the appearance of CNFs in web-like structure with a width of 55-64 nm. The effect of reinforcement of CNFs in epoxy matrix was performed, whose tensile strength increased by 37% when 2 wt% of CNFs was loaded into the matrix.