Preparation and characterization of high yield cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) derived from ball mill pretreatment and maleic acid hydrolysis

The target of the study is to improve the yield and the colloidal stability of cellulose nano-crystals (CNC) that is obtained through maleic acid hydrolysis. Herein, a facile/ green approach to prepare CNC with high yield and colloidal stability from bamboo fibers is presented. Ball mill pretreatment can break down and open up the structure of bamboo fibers, thus exposing more hydroxyl groups on the surface of pulp fibers and increasing the access of acid molecules into pulp fibers. The maleic acid molecules can easily hydrolyze cellulose, thus releasing more crystalline parts; maleic acid anhydride can react with hydroxyl groups to generate more -COOH groups on CNC. The yield of resultant CNC was 10.55-24.50 %, which was much higher than 2.80 % of the control. The study put forward a facile approach to prepare CNC with high yield and colloidal stability, and paves a possible way for industrialization of CNC production.