Extraction and characterization of cellulose nanocrystals from Puerto Rico's Bambusa vulgaris

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were extracted and characterized from \textit{Bambusa vulgaris Schrad. ex Wendl}, a species of bamboo found in Puerto Rico. The CNCs extraction process was based on the acidic hydrolysis of delignified and bleached bamboo pulp, removing phenolic compounds and chromophoric molecules in lignin and degrading hemicellulose and lignin components within the bamboo fibers. A pure form of bamboo CNCs were isolated as colloidal suspension and characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), spectroscopies scanning electron and atomic force microscopies. FTIR analysis of freeze-dried CNCs indicated that hemicellulose and lignin were efficiently removed. Atomic force microscope images of polydispersed CNCs depicted rod-shaped structures with average distribution in dimensions of 480 nm and 120 nm, in length and diameter, respectively, and aspect ratio of 4.