title: Miscanthus Giganteus: A commercially viable sustainable source of cellulose nanocrystals.
abstract: With a goal of identifying a new scalable source for cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), we successfully isolated CNCs from a sustainable, non-invasive grass, Miscanthus x. Giganteus (MxG). Subjecting MxG stalks to base hydrolysis, bleaching and acid hydrolysis allowed access to cellulose nanocrystals (MxG-CNC) in high yields. X-ray diffraction studies showed the crystallinity of the MxG-CNCs increased with subsequent treatment conditions (>90% after HCl hydrolysis). Transmission electron microscopy showed that the MxG-CNC exhibit relatively high aspect ratios (60-70), and small angle neutron scattering showed the crystals were ribbon-like with a width and thickness of 8.5 and 2.8nm respectively. As expected, thermomechanical analysis of nanocomposites fabricated with carboxylic acid functionalized MxG-CNC (MxG-CNC-COOH) and PVAc showed an increase in modulus (above Tg) as filler content was increased. Comparing the properties to PVAc nanocomposites containing CNCs from wood showed at least as good, if not slightly better, reinforcement at the same loading level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2100 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Elvis
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cudjoe
authors.affiliation: Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2100 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; Department of Chemistry, Kenyon College, 101 Scott Lane, Gambier, OH 43022, USA.
authors.forename: Mo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hunsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2100 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Zhaojun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2100 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Amanda E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Way
authors.affiliation: Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2100 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Barrios
authors.affiliation: Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2100 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Olson
authors.affiliation: Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2100 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA.
authors.forename: Michael J A
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hore
authors.affiliation: Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2100 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA; Institute for Molecular Engineering and Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, 5640 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Electronic address: stuartrowan@uchicago.edu.
authors.forename: Stuart J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Rowan
keywords: Cellulose nanocrystals; Hydrolysis; Miscanthus x. Giganteus; Nanocellulose; Nanocomposites; Sustainable