title: Physicochemical characterization of cellulose nanocrystal and nanoporous self-assembled CNC membrane derived from Ceiba pentandra.
abstract: This research involves the rare utilisation of the kapok fibre (Ceiba pentandra) as a raw material for the fabrication of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) and self-assembled CNC membranes. The isolation of CNC from Ceiba pentandra began with the extraction of cellulose via the chemical alkali extraction by using 5wt% NaOH, followed by the typical acidified bleaching method and, finally, the CNC production through acid hydrolysis with 60wt% H2SO4at the optimum time of 60min. The prepared CNC was then employed for the preparation of self-assembled membrane through the water suspension casting evaporation technique. The obtained CNC membrane was characterised in terms of its composition, crystallinity, thermal stability, as well as, structural and morphological features with the use of several techniques including FTIR, XRD, AFM, TEM, FESEM, and TGA. The FESEM and AFM analyses had illustrated the achievement of a self-assembled CNC membrane with a smooth surface and a well-distributed nano-porous structure, with the porosity of 52.82±7.79%. In addition, the findings proved that the self-assembled CNC membrane displayed good adsorption capability indicated by the recorded efficiency of 79% and 85% for 10mg/L and 5mg/L of methylene blue in an aqueous solution, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Fuel Cell Institute (SELFUEL), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia; Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Electronic address: mazuwa2@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mohamad Azuwa
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mohamed
authors.affiliation: Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Electronic address: hayati@petroleum.utm.my.
authors.forename: W N
authors.initials: WN
authors.lastname: W Salleh
authors.affiliation: Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Juhana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jaafar
authors.affiliation: Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.affiliation: Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia; Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Muhazri
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abd Mutalib
authors.affiliation: Fuel Cell Institute (SELFUEL), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Abu Bakar
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Mohamad
authors.affiliation: Sustainable Construction Materials and Building Systems (SUCOMBS) Research Group, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Malaysia.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: M Zain
authors.affiliation: Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Nor Asikin
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Awang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Zul Adlan
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Mohd Hir
mesh_terms: D035164:Ceiba / Q000737:chemistry*; D002482:Cellulose; D006868:Hydrolysis; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D053758:Nanoparticles; D058608:Nanopores
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D002482:Cellulose
keywords: Cellulose nanocrystal; Dye removal; Kapok fiber; Self-assembled CNC membrane